One day after the service stations of Neuquén capital began to be notified by the municipality to immediately implement the 4.5% road rate on each liter of fuel sold, as a contribution for the transportation service, San Martín de los Andes reveals negative results in the first month of application of the measure.
RÍO NEGRO Diary spoke with some of the parkers in the tourist town and they shared that since May 3, the day the measure was applied “There was a drop in fuel sales.”
According to what they reported, in some cases falls of up to 15% in the volume of gasoline and diesel sold. «The experience is not at all positive, not only for us but also for the clients, who obviously do not agree with an increase of this type»said the person in charge of one of the San Martín stations.
“We have to sell the premium diesel that is 43 pesos more expensive, the discontent is logical,” He said and detailed that the company asked the central supplier to specify the concept of rate in the ticket.
“Today our clients have the road tax tax item discriminated against, we consider that it is fair that they know when they pay, what they paid”argument.
With the rate, San Martín customers pay $828 for super gasoline; $1027 for premium gasoline; $1058 for regular diesel and $1305 for premium diesel.
The impact of the “border effect” on fuel sales in San Martín de los Andes
Asked about the causes of the drop in sales and what implications the recently incorporated rate had, the retailers explained that “there is a direct relationship”. Although the summer season is the one that historically generates the greatest profits in terms of sales volume, even causing shortages in the three available seasons. “The tax brought a harmful border effect.”
The merchants explained that this process caused many of the important clients to decide to load fuel in other locations. “We have registered companies that stopped coming to load in Junín, maybe the rate doesn’t make much difference to a car, but it does to truckers”said one of the businessmen.
The so-called “border effect” invites the user to look for places where a tank can be filled for less money. “There are tourism companies and regular travelers who pass by and choose to load in Villa La Angostura, another municipality that, like Junín, does not have this rate”he highlighted.
This new configuration in the behavior of the tourist or wholesale consumer, It could have a replica in the capital Neuquén, which will coexist with two nearby cities that have not yet confirmed a prompt application of the rate. This is the case of Plottier and in Río Negro in Cipolletti, where there was approval in the Deliberative Council but it has not yet been made effective.
Centenario, however, reported in the last few hours that from next week It will also charge the tax on fuel.
How the municipality of San Martín charges the new road tax to the stations
The survey carried out by this means, describes that the procedure for collecting the road tax by the local government from service stations begins with a monthly sworn declaration. It has a maximum deadline to submit and must specify the total fuel (gasoline and diesel) sold and the amount collected.
At this point it is clarified that everything declared is for the net fuel price, without other national taxes applied to the total value. To this crude amount, 4.5% of the road tax is applied and paid to the municipality.
This criterion has to do with the calculation of the road tax. As explained in another note Diario RÍO NEGRO, The price of fuel that is seen on the pump screens includes several items, many of them tax. That is, the Tax must be added to the base of each fluid Value Added Tax (VAT), the carbon dioxide tax, he liquid fuel tax and others that end in AFIP. The municipal road tax will be calculated on the price of fuel without these national taxes.
