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Report 2020

3.2.3. Evolution of income for Special Taxes

Revenue from Excise Taxes decreased by 12.1 percent in 2020, recording losses in all figures.

The Hydrocarbon Tax, which has the most weight in all of these taxes, fell -15.8 percent. The evolution throughout the year ran parallel to that of activity and consumption, with a sharp decline as soon as the first state of alarm was declared (income for those months was half that of a year before) and subsequent recovery, although in The final stretch of the year saw a certain slowdown again due to limitations on mobility. The latter translated into greater falls in gasoline (more linked to household consumption) than in automotive diesel (which is more related to activity).

The Electricity Tax also has activity and consumption as determinants. It also suffered the initial shock, although less intensely than hydrocarbons, and the fall moderated more slowly due to the drop in prices caused by the economic situation. At the end of the year, the decline was 10.1 percent.

In the Tax on Tobacco Products, collection was reduced again, as in the previous three years. The differential in 2020 was the size of that drop (-3.1 percent compared to -1.4 percent on average in 2018 and 2019). In 2020, the usually irregular behavior of these incomes was compounded by the effect of some advance purchases due to fear of shortages and initial uncertainty about the tourist year.

Regarding the rest of the figures, income linked to taxes on alcohol decreased by 18.6 percent, a consequence of the general situation and the problems of the hotel and restaurant industry in particular. The decrease was more pronounced in the Tax on Alcohol and Derived Beverages (-23.4 percent) than in the Tax on Beer (-7.8 percent). Finally, the collection of the Coal Tax is almost marginal (41 million, 70.2 percent less than in 2019) due to the progressive withdrawal of coal from the electric energy production process that has taken place in recent years.