Executive requests the Assembly to expedite a project that reduces the price of LP gas in Costa Rica by ₡ 27 per liter

This Presidency of the Republic of Costa Rica release was published using machine translation.

This Tuesday, the Minister of the Presidency, Geannina Dinarte, reiterated to the Legislative Assembly the request to carry out an expedited procedure in the discussion of the project that would reduce the tax on LP Gas by ₡ 27 per liter, which used in homes, sodas , restaurants and tourism enterprises.

This is file No. 22,424, "Reduction of the Single Tax on LPG Gas", which is in the Environment Commission, proposed by deputy Erwen Masís.

Minister Dinarte explained that the approval of this bill is urgent before November 1, because on that date the next update of the single fuel tax that the Ministry of Finance carries out every three months, as established Article 3 of the Tax Simplification and Efficiency Law Nº8114, in its article 3.

"We have a great opportunity this week in the Legislative Assembly to specify a waiver of processing for the approval of this file, and thus generate a decrease in the price of LP gas this year, for the benefit of many homes and businesses," said the Minister Dinarte.

The head of the Presidency explained that if this bill is not approved before November 1, households and businesses would have to wait until next year to see the savings reflected.

Currently, for each liter of liquefied petroleum gas, the consumer pays ₡ 51.25 for the single tax, while per bunker he pays ₡ 24.25. With the reduction proposed in the bill, that cost would be equal to that of the bunker, which would generate a saving of ₡ 27 per liter for people with fewer resources who cook with LPG gas and to small businesses such as sodas or restaurants and to a series of tourist enterprises that use this fuel.

According to the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP), the maximum commercial price is 9,556 colones for a 25-pound gas cylinder; if this project is approved, the reduction is estimated at around 300 colones per cylinder. In the case of the presentation of 100 pounds, the savings would amount to 1,225 colones for the consumer.

The downward modification of this tax represents savings for consumers that exceed ₡ 8,800 million per year.

At the same time, liquefied petroleum gas is less polluting and has a better cost-efficiency ratio than other fuels such as diesel and gasoline.