Before the formation of government: Again again car toll? CSU lawyers want to be levy for everyone

Shortly before the start of the coalition negotiations of the Union and the SPD in the federal government, the CSU comes from the CSU to introduce a car toll in Germany. All users of transport infrastructure would have to be involved in the financing – as in other countries in Europe, according to a resolution of the working group, lawyers of the CSU (AKJ). “A suitable means of this is an appropriate infrastructure tax for using the federal roads and highways in Germany.”

No relief in return by tax breaks

In contrast to the toll attempt by the then Federal Government, which is legally stopped in 2019, the CSU concept relies on a levy for all users without exceptions or back doors such as a tax cut for German drivers: “A direct relief of German vehicle owners through the vehicle tax is excluded by the ECJ. The AKJ respects the AKJ as a binding judicial decision.”

At that time, a law for a car toll that was boxed by the CSU was stopped by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as illegal. The central sticking point was that only drivers from the domestic to the toll should be fully relieved of the vehicle tax. Shortly after the judgment, the then Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer (CSU) terminated the contracts with the proposed operators, who then claimed compensation. An communication according to an arbitration proceedings showed that the federal government had to pay them 243 million euros.

CSU lawyers refer to judgment from Karlsruhe

The CSU lawyers justify their new approach with the renovation backlog on Germany’s long-distance roads and a associated disadvantage of young people. “The Federal Constitutional Court found in 2021 that the legislator must” make precautions to protect fundamental rights “in order to protect the following generations from being restricted in their basic law freedoms in almost all areas,” said the chairman of the AKJ, Bavaria’s ex-Justice Minister Winfried Bauback.

Further: “The investment backlog in traffic and other infrastructure is already threatening to massively restricted the freedom rooms of young and aftercoming generations in the future.” One possible measure is to involve all users of federal roads and highways regardless of whether they come from domestic or other European countries, to involve an appropriate infrastructure tax in the renovation costs.

Is the debate experiencing a renaissance?

So far, there has actually been the opinion of not making a new start to a car toll. Nevertheless, the topic is currently experiencing a renaissance in many background talks in Berlin. However, official opinion formation has not yet taken place. According to Bausback, the AKJ also explicitly understands its proposal as an indication of the negotiations of the SPD and Union on the formation of a new federal government. There is nothing like that in the election programs of the CDU and CSU.

Union has so far been categorical against renewed toll start

Last December, the Union and FDP canceled a corresponding demand from the main association of the construction industry. Here, too, the impending traffic collapse due to dilapidated roads and high renovation costs had been mentioned as a reason. One toll could bring around three billion euros a year, then association manager Tim-Oliver Müller told the “Bild”. “The income only has to flow into road construction.”

The Union Group’s traffic policy spokesman, Thomas Bareiß, told the dpa at the time: “There will be no car toll with us. Already today the driver is only cashed in. Driving should not become a luxury. Instead, the income from the truck toll would have to be used for road construction and maintenance instead of “filling household holes”.