3.2.4. Evolution of income for Special Taxes

Excise tax revenues increased by 2.5% in 2022 and amounted to 20,224 million euros. Without the impact of the reduction in the rate on the Electricity Tax, growth would be 11.2%.

In 2022, revenues remained below 2019 levels, although, if the Electricity Tax is not included in the calculation, which was negatively affected by the measures aimed at offsetting increases in the cost of electricity, the level reached in 2022 is approximately the same as then.

The low growth in revenue is mainly a consequence of the poor performance of the Hydrocarbon Tax. Revenues in this figure grew by 4.3%, an insufficient rate to recover everything lost in 2020 and part of 2021 (in 2022, revenues are 2.3% lower than in 2019). The start of the year was favourable compared to a few months still burdened by restrictions and the Filomena storm. But the subsequent recovery was not complete because consumption was slowed, first, by the high prices of gasoline and diesel, the two main products, and then by the moderation that activity began to show. All of this resulted in gasoline consumption growth in the latter part of the year falling to 2.6% compared to 10.7% for the year as a whole, while diesel consumption fell every month in the second half of the year.

The rest of the figures, on the other hand, showed a very favourable evolution in 2022. Revenue from the Tobacco Tax grew by 9.3% after five years of falling revenue. The income level is similar to that observed in the period 2013-2017. Around 5 points come from the increase in prices, both for cigarettes and for other products (higher for the latter) and the rest from the increase in consumption.

Revenue from alcohol taxes also increased, in this case by 26.4%. The profile is similar to that discussed for hydrocarbons: very high rates in the first part of the year compared to periods with limitations on hotel and restaurant activities and more moderate rates in the second part of the year. In any case, the level of revenue achieved is high even when compared to what the trend of the series would have been without the collapse of 2020 and 2021. Also worth noting, although its weight is marginal, is the revenue from the Coal Tax, double that collected a year earlier. As you may recall, tax revenues had been reduced to practically nothing following the abandonment of coal in the production of electrical energy. The situation on the raw material markets led to a greater use of this source in 2022.