Netizen complains about increase in petrol duty

Singapore — A member of the public took to Facebook to bemoan the increase in petrol prices.

She uploaded two photos of receipts she had obtained from a gas station to the Facebook group “Complaint Singapore”.

The receipts indicated that she had visited Esso petrol stations on two different occasions and purchased Supreme plus fuel, which is a fuel with an octane rating of 98. The first was dated 25 April 2021 while the second was dated 8 July 2021.

The older receipt reflected that the Supreme plus fuel was priced at S$2.87 per litre while the newer receipt stated $2.99 per litre, marking a 4 per cent increase in price in about two months.

In her caption, the member of the public remarked that petrol prices are quietly increasing even when the prices of oil are low.

Other netizens took to the comments section to share their views on the matter.

One netizen in particular remarked that it was somewhat unfair that petrol prices tend to go up in tandem with an increase in the price of oil. However, when the price of oil drops, petrol prices rarely experience a decrease but instead remain the same. Members of the public are then told that there are many more factors playing into the price of petrol, not just the price of oil.

However, a few other netizens said that the price of oil had actually been increasing, contrary to what the original poster had written in her caption.

A few others mentioned that the increase in prices was inevitable due to the tax that is being imposed on petrol.

The tax on petrol is usage-based and aims to encourage members to make use of fuel more efficiently or to consider environmentally friendly alternatives when it comes to commuting instead.

You Zi Xuan is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISG