Ever higher prices, not least for energy. The gas levy will soon also contribute to this – from which the state will initially earn money. The coalition wants to relieve the burden elsewhere.
For consumers in Germany, there will be no exemption from VAT on the gas levy – the traffic light coalition is therefore exploring further relief options.
SPD faction deputy Matthias Miersch already warned of a different solution before the decision from Brussels if no tax exemption was possible. In the end, nobody should pay more than 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour, said Miersch on ARD. “Now it has to go on,” demanded the SPD politician with a view to further relief. For example, answers are needed for pensioners. A reliable follow-up solution for the 9-euro ticket, which is only valid until the end of August, is also necessary.
The parliamentary state secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics, Michael Kellner (Greens), wants to focus relief in view of high energy costs primarily on low earners.
The economic policy spokeswoman for the Union faction, Julia Klöckner, called on the government to act quickly. “The endless discussions about relief must now come to an end quickly and the additional burden of VAT must be returned to consumers quickly,” said the CDU politician.
Scholz wants quick clarification
The EU Commission confirmed that, contrary to what the federal government had hoped, it would not be possible to cancel the tax. According to the Brussels authorities, however, they are working together with Berlin on a solution. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants a quick clarification. Calls came from the coalition for a tax cut.
The levy is intended to compensate for the increased procurement costs of major importers in order to protect them from bankruptcy and the German energy system from collapsing. All gas customers should pay an additional 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour, private households as well as companies. About half of all apartments in Germany are heated with gas.
Majority of citizens lack orientation
The federal government has initiated several relief measures in recent months. According to a survey, however, a majority of Germans lack orientation. This emerges from the RTL/ntv “trend barometer”. According to their own assessment, 20 percent of those questioned had a precise overview, while 78 percent stated that they “didn’t see through it anymore”.
Against the background of the relief debate, the discussion about the tax plans of Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner continues. The dismantling of the so-called cold progression is not just a question of financial policy, wrote the FDP leader on Twitter. “It’s a socio-political decision. What has long been state practice is being declared by left-wing voices to be ‘clientele politics’. But it’s about the broad middle of society.”
Lindner: Inflation Compensation Act creates tax justice
Lindner wants to compensate for the cold progression. This is an effect that causes citizens to pay more taxes in times of high inflation, even though their purchasing power does not increase. The minister has therefore proposed raising the basic allowance and the limit for the top tax rate.
The so-called Inflation Compensation Act creates tax justice, wrote Lindner. “We avoid inflation-related additional burdens for 48 million people in Germany – 270,000 are even completely exempt from paying income tax.”
Politicians from the coalition partners SPD and Greens criticize the proposal that euros and cents would arrive less with low earners than with top earners. Lindner rejected this: “The maximum effect is capped for a single person with a good 62,000 euros annual income. That’s a good salary, but still in the middle of society,” he told the dpa. “The additional burden for these people would be 479 euros if we do nothing.”
Source: Stern
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