Drivers in Costa Rica
Should Consider
Themselves Lucky When It
Comes To Gasoline Prices
Though gasoline prices
are record high at
us$4.92 for a US gallon
of super, try us$9.85 in
Olso, which currently
has the highest priced
gasoline on a list of
world gas prices
released on Wednesday by
Associates for
International Research
Inc., a Massachusetts
relocation consulting
firm that tracks the
cost of living in dozens
of countries.
The world's lowest
priced gasoline can be
found in Venezuela,
where at us 12 cents a
gallon, it costs less to
fill a gasoline tank
than to buy a Big Mac.
So why the big price
differences around the
world? Experts say
retail gas prices are
influenced by a variety
of factors, including
the cost of refining,
distribution and
marketing. But the
biggest single variable
is government policy:
Some countries tax
gasoline heavily; others
subsidize it to make it
cheap.
In Costa Rica, currently
for every litre of super
gasoline pumped at ˘656
colones, the government
takes a bite of ˘173.25,
regular that sells for
˘644 colones a litre has
a tax of ˘165.75, and a
litre of diesel fuel
selling at ˘622 colones
has a tax of ˘97.5
colones.
The regulating authority
has approved a round of
new gasoline prices that
go into effective on
July 15, adding another
˘60 colones to the cost
of regular and super
gasoline and ˘88 to
diesel fuel.
Although the tax on
gasoline products will
not change with the
price increase,
legislators have before
them a bill that would
increase the tax to ˘ on
super, ˘ on regular and
˘ on diesel, effectively
bringing the price of a
litre of super gasoline
over ˘800 colones a
litre or us$6 a US
gallon.
A subsidy of ˘88 colones
on a litre of diesel has
been promised by the
government, however,
legislators have yet to
approve the bill that
would transfer some ˘10
billion colones to the
state refinery.
Gas prices per US gallon
in world cities
according to AIRINC:
Oslo US$9.85
Paris US$9.43
Rome US$9.03
Berlin US$8.68
Hong Kong US$8.05
Sao Paulo US$6.38
Toronto US$4.98
Los Angeles US$4.57
Havana US$3.75
Mexico City US$2.62
Tehran US$0.41
Caracas US$0.12
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