The net revenue from the Tax on Petroleum Derived Fuels in the Canary Islands closed the 2025 fiscal year at 307.12 million euros, consolidating a setback compared to the 323.65 million recorded the previous year. This figure breaks a three-year streak of sustained growth following the historic collapse of 2020, when tax revenues from this concept fell to 254.3 million euros under the impact of mobility restrictions. The current balance places the tax’s revenue capacity below pre-health crisis levels, despite the rebound recorded in the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years.
The structure of gross revenues for the 2025 fiscal year reflects a contraction in demand, with a settlement of 345.14 million euros compared to 365.02 million in the previous period. The refunds made by the tax administration have played a decisive role in the final balance, amounting to 38.92 million euros. These refunds, essential for compensating professional and transport sectors, reached their historical maximum in 2023 with 59.57 million euros, highlighting the increasing pressure that inflation in energy costs has exerted on the tax compensation mechanisms of the archipelago.
The historical analysis of the last decade reveals a glass ceiling around 330 million euros, a level that the tax maintained with few variations between 2017 and 2019. The 2024 fiscal year was the closest to regaining this stability, driven by a vigorous recovery in economic and tourism activity. However, the gap between gross and net revenue has structurally widened; while in 2015, the system retained 90.9% of gross income, in 2025 that efficiency ratio has moderated, conditioned by a volume of refunds that remains substantially above the records of the initial series.
The contribution of previous fiscal years to the common treasury has shown an upward trend, closing 2025 with 904,355 euros, the highest figure in this concept since 2016. This increase in the collection of arrears suggests a greater intensity in inspection and tax regularization efforts. Nevertheless, the 5.1% decrease in total net revenue for the last year raises questions about the impact of the energy transition and the efficiency of the vehicle fleet, factors that are beginning to erode the tax base of a traditionally strategic tax for the Canary Islands’ treasury.
