Santo Domingo.– Engineer José Luis Moreno, a professor at the UASD Energy Institute, asserted that the Dominican government does not currently subsidize the main fuels consumed by the population, but rather applies fiscal sacrifice mechanisms through the reduction or elimination of taxes.
During the discussion “Analysis of hydrocarbons: real subsidy or fiscal sacrifice?”, Moreno maintained that the prices of gasoline, diesel, and LPG do not reflect direct state subsidies and called for greater transparency in the application of the formula that determines fuel costs.
The academic stated that the gallon of LPG should be sold for around RD$101, but it is currently marketed at RD$137.20, which, according to him, generates extraordinary income for the State. Furthermore, he proposed the creation of a Fuel Price Stabilization Fund (FEPCO) that is auditable and transparent.
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For his part, the president of Fenatrano, Juan Hubieres, supported these statements and rejected the official claims regarding fuel subsidies.
“The first thing is that there are no subsidies. It is the opposite,” stated Hubieres, who asserted that consumers have assumed additional costs included in the price structure for years.
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The transport leader also questioned recent statements by the Vice President of the Republic on the subject and called on the Government to publicly debate the composition of fuel prices so that the population knows how final costs are determined.
