The energy crisis is affecting many companies. Some, however, are making big profits in this situation. An excess profit tax could have compensated. But there is no majority.
Several countries have failed in the Federal Council with their demand for a special tax on high additional profits from companies from the Ukraine war. The motion by Bremen, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Thuringia to introduce an excess profit tax did not find a majority in the state chamber on Friday.
The federal government is also divided on the issue: while the SPD and the Greens are open, the FDP and Finance Minister Christian Lindner recently clearly rejected such a tax.
The four states wanted the Bundesrat to ask the federal government to submit a proposal for the temporary levying of an excess profit tax for 2022. The aim would have been to impose a tax or levy on high profits, particularly in the energy sector, as a result of the crisis. State relief measures are then to be financed from the revenue. But it’s not just about money, but also about a disciplining, market-regulating effect, argued Bremen’s Prime Minister Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD).
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
