Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris has indicated that the Government may gradually reintroduce higher excise duty on petrol and diesel, rather than a sudden hike in the taxes when the current, temporary cuts expire at the end of July.Speaking in the Dáil on Thursday, Harris indicated that he did not want to see an “immediate cliff-edge” at the end of July when the excise cuts of 32 cent a litre for diesel and 27 cent for petrol, introduced as a temporary response to high prices at the pump, are due to lapse. The second round of cuts followed the fuel protests in April.It is expected that the Government will discuss the issue soon, possibly as early as this week, though Harris gave a clear signpost to his thinking on the issue, saying that he did not think people could absorb “the full 32 cent”. At the same time, he pointed to the falling price of petrol and diesel on forecourts, as the situation in the Middle East stabilises and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz restarts.As things stand, the cuts to excise are due to expire on July 31st. If that is to be changed, legislation will need to be passed by the Oireachtas in the coming weeks, so a Government decision will be required sooner rather than later. A gradual restoration seems politically and economically the most sensible solution; people are notoriously averse to having even temporary concessions discontinued, while the volatility of politics in the Gulf and the unpredictability of some of the people involved – not least the US president Donald Trump – means that further spikes in oil prices cannot be ruled out. An incremental restoration of excise rates can always be paused if that happens.More generally, however, the changes are an opportunity to consider the best structure and future of this class of government revenues. Should Ireland really have such high fuel taxes, at a time consumers are pressured by rising prices in a variety of fields? Why should Ireland have some of the most expensive fuel costs in Europe? And as the switch to non-fossil fuel engines gathers pace, is the Exchequer prepared for the loss of revenues from petrol and diesel?As with so much else, Ireland should be thinking about reforming these areas of State income and expenditure when the Exchequer is flush with cash and can absorb both temporary fluctuations and the cost of change – and not wait until a crisis situation. There were more warnings this week of just how over-dependent the public finances have become on the multinational sector, now a disproportionate contributor to revenue streams like income tax and PRSI, beyond just corporation tax. The way to avoid over-reliance on one type of tax is to have multiple streams of taxation revenue. However it is structured, excise will have to be part of that.