5. Special Taxes

The Special Taxes were the ones that, among the big figures, had the worst results in 2021. Revenue from these taxes grew by 5%, to 19,729 million euros, and at the end of the year they were still 7.7% lower than in 2019. Very diverse factors influenced this joint result. In the Hydrocarbon Tax, revenue increased by 11.3%, but in 2020 it had decreased by 15.8%. Its evolution throughout the year was one of progressive improvement, but not at a sufficient pace to reverse the decline of the previous year. The limitations on mobility that still existed at the end of 2020 and the first months of 2021 and the effects of the Filomena storm at the beginning of the year, together with the sharp rise in prices, hampered the recovery. The drop recorded in the Tax on Tobacco Products (-2.1%) is the fifth consecutive in recent years. Consumption remained practically stable, and average prices decreased (due to greater consumption of cheaper varieties) despite the fact that in the last quarter there were increases in the most representative brands. In the Electricity Tax, the decrease in income (-12.2%) is explained by the decrease in the rate in force since mid-September and for which an impact of 336 million is estimated. With this amount, income would be approximately at the same level as in 2019, with higher prices than then. In taxes on alcohol, after a very negative start due to poor consumption data at the end of 2020, high rates were recorded that brought growth in the year to 7%, but income never exceeded that of 2019 (-12.9% compared to that year).

In 2021 all consumption of products subject to II.EE increased. ( Table 5.1 ), driven by the relaxation of mobility restrictions and other limitations, growing more intensely in those cases in which the incidence of the pandemic was higher in 2020, such as This happens with gasoline and diesel fuel (11.4%) or with alcohol (33.2% for the highest alcohol content). Beer consumption (7.5%) and electricity consumption (2.7%) also increased, while tobacco consumption remained practically stable (0.4%, cigarette consumption 0.2%). However, these growths were not enough to reach 2019 levels in any product.

LOne notable factor in 2021 was the rebound in prices, especially in the final part of the year, highlighting the increase in energy prices with very intense increases since March. Thus, the average price of gasoline and diesel grew by 18.5% (29.9% before taxes; Table 9.1 ) due to the increase in demand throughout the year, and the global tensions that drove the price of a barrel of oil in euros to rise above 65%. In electricity, the increase before taxes was 14.8%, although the retail price was reduced to 7.4% thanks to the radical reduction in the rate that occurred in mid-September ( Table 5.7 ). For their part, the average prices of alcoholic beverages barely changed compared to the previous year ( Table 5.2 ) and in beer the increase was minimal (0.6%, Table 5.3 ), while the average retail price of tobacco products fell by 0.7%, since the increase in the price of other products was not enough to offset the lower average price of tobacco products. packs ( Table 9.2 ). Consequently, the value of the products subject to II.EE. (before VAT) increased by 19.9% thanks to the recovery process in consumption and the notable rise in the prices of energy products ( Tables 1.3 and 5.1 ).

Regarding the effective rates, the only regulatory change in 2021 was the drastic reduction in the rate of the Electricity Tax since mid-September (from 5.11% to 0.5% ). The estimated impact of this reduction in 2021 reaches 336 million euros ( Table 1.5 ). But, as can be seen in Table 5.1 , there have been other variations in rates. The changes that have been registered in the last two years in the effective rate of gasoline and diesel fuel stand out, due to changes in the composition of consumption of the different products. Thus, the largest drop in 2020 in products with a higher rate, such as gasoline, translated into a drop in the average rate, while in 2021 the opposite effect occurred. This composition effect is also observed in the variations in the excise tax per liter of beer.

Special Taxes accrued grew by 7.1%, remaining more than 1,500 million below the level reached in 2019 (-7.1%, Table 5.1 ). Taxes on Alcohol and Hydrocarbons increased in line with the recovery in consumption, and so would the Tax on Electricity had it not been burdened by the rate reduction. In fact, in the absence of a rate change, this figure would have been the only one to remain at levels similar to those registered two years ago. Of the 1,500 million lower amount accrued compared to 2019, more than 700 million are concentrated in the Tax on Hydrocarbons and more than 300 in the Tax on Tobacco Products, for which stagnant consumption and lower prices come together. The Coal Tax falls for another year as its use as a raw material for electricity generation is very residual.

The Hydrocarbon Tax increased by 13.6% ( Table 5.5 ) after the intense fall in 2020. The increase exceeds the increase in consumption by almost two points due to the increase in the average rate derived from greater use of products taxed at higher rates. As in other taxes, the evolution throughout the year is almost a reflection of what happened the previous year, with a first quarter in which the decrease continued due to the impact of Filomena and the restrictions still in force due to the pandemic, a second quarter of strong rebound in response to the drastic drop in 2020, followed by a last semester in which the increase in prices partially slowed the advance of consumption. Gasoline, a product most linked to consumption, grew by 24.1%, remaining only 1.9% below the pre-pandemic level, while automotive diesel, more related to transportation, despite increasing by 11, 5% remained at much lower consumption levels than in previous years (you have to go back to 2014 to find a lower consumption level).

The Tax on Tobacco Products accrued was reduced by 0.8% in 2021 (-5.0% compared to 2019, Table 5.6 ), due to stagnant consumption and lower prices. The decrease was greater in cigarettes (-0.8%), than in the rest of the tasks (-0.5%), which breaks the increasing pattern that has been observed in the last three years. This new decrease leaves the tax at levels substantially lower than the average observed in the period 2013 to 2019.

The Electricity Tax was reduced by 20% ( Table 5.7 ), weighed down, as already mentioned, by the sharp drop in the rate (from 5.11% to 0.5%) that It came into effect in mid-September. Consumption grew in 2021, but the most notable thing was the strong price increases in the wholesale market that intensified since the middle of the year. Prior to the drastic reduction in the rate, the increase in the tax accrued and, therefore, in income was not so intense, in addition to the gap that occurs between consumption and billing, because other elements intervene in the bill. that soften the impact of the price increase in the wholesale market and because the percentage of consumers who are in the free market is high.

The alcohol tax registered a significant advance in 2021 (33.2%; Table 5.2 ), which, however, was not enough to counteract the intense fall of the previous year, so that it remains almost 5% below the amount reached in 2019, conditioned by the situation of the hospitality and restaurant sectors, which remained subject to restrictions for part of the year and have not yet recovered from the impact of the pandemic. Something similar occurs in the Beer Tax, with an increase in 2021 of 8.7% (-2.2% compared to 2019; Table 5.3 ).

The Coal Tax was reduced again by 9.4%, to 31 million. As has already been mentioned in other reports, this figure has a residual role within the system, once the use of coal in electricity generation by the largest producers was abandoned.

Collection from Special Taxes increased by 5%, to 19,729 million, remaining 7.7% below what was collected in 2019 (1,651 million less; Table 5.1 ). Its growth is more than two points below that corresponding to the tax accrued due to the displacement of the last accruals of 2020 (most affected by the crisis) to the 2021 cash and, of the last accruals of 2021, which reflect the best performance of consumption, at the end of 2022. This is especially relevant in the Tax on Hydrocarbons (11.3%, more than two points below the accrual) and in taxes on alcohol (7% in cash compared to 13.5% of the accrual).

In the Electricity Tax, however, the effect is the opposite (-12.2% in cash and -20% in accrual) due to the reduction in the rate in the final section of the year.