OIL TAX TO BE LOWERED

[Anchor Lead]

Oil tax will be lowered by 20% for the next six months, starting today. The tax cut is expected to lower the gasoline prices to as far as under 1,600 won per liter.

[Pkg]

​The 20% cut on oil tax goes into effect from Friday. The price of gasoline goes down by 164 won per liter, diesel by 116 won and LPG butane by 40 won. When international oil prices spiked, the government decided last month to lower the oil tax to stabilize inflation and ease financial burden on citizens. The recent average gasoline price nationwide was in the 1,800-won range. It could go down to the 1,600-won mark. However, the prices of gasoline are determined by individual gas stations so it could take some time for the actual prices to reflect the tax reduction. The government asked the oil industry to help lower gas prices as quickly as possible. First, the gas stations operated by the oil companies and the government will lower their gasoline prices from Friday. Such stations account for about one-fifth of all gas stations in Korea. The oil refining industry also said the oil tax cut will be reflected in their product prices as soon as possible. To help consumers find gas stations with lowered prices more easily, the government will provide real-time price reduction info on the Opinet website and mobile apps. The oil tax reduction measure will be in place for six months until the end of next April. Also starting Friday, the quota tariff on LNG will be removed temporarily.