Check My Math

I just filled the gas tank on my little Scion xD. It's a nice car; I've had some trouble with the passenger-side cup holder (it sticks) and the stock tires wore out completely in 35,000 miles, but it's reasonably stylish, reliable, and equipped.

Anyway, filling the gas tank: 9.707 gallons at $3.699 per gallon cost me $35.91. That's less than it cost me a few months ago, more than it cost me a few years ago. But what if I were in Ireland? What would it cost me to fill my little four-banger with enough gasoline to commute back and forth for a week?

Gasoline (petrol) costs an average of €1.659 per liter just now. The current exchange rate is 1.275 USD per euro; that is (I think) $2.11 per liter. You can cram 3.785 litres into each US gallon. That means gasoline costs $8.01 per gallon in Ireland.

Filling my little four-banger Scion xD would cost me just about $77.72. That's for the same gasoline that I buy here in Berlin, Massachusetts.

When I paid for my gasoline in Massachusetts, just about $2.28 out of the $35.91 went to taxes. That means (I think) that the real cost of the gasoline, including drilling, refining, and profits, came to $33.63. So, unless my math is wrong (and it sure could be), the Irish government and the EU are collecting $44.09 in taxes from their citizens (more or less) each time a citizen puts a tank of gasoline in their little european four-banger. For those on the other side of the pond keeping score, that's just about €35.11. Per tank. Every time.

Now, if I was Greek or German or Irish (wait - I am Irish), before anybody in government talked to me about raising taxes or implementing austerity measures, I'd want someone to, oh I don't know, audit the books, maybe?