Berlin The traffic light coalition is still looking for the right recipe to relieve citizens of the high fuel and heating costs. The proposal for a mobility allowance comes from the House of Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD).
It envisages paying citizens a relief amount that is graduated according to income and that could be transferred with the monthly salary. Up to an income of 2000 euros, an amount of 50 euros is under discussion, from 2001 to 3000 euros earnings 35 euros and for higher incomes 20 euros. This could cost the state one billion euros a month.
Alternatively, consideration is being given to subjecting a uniform premium to income tax, so that low earners would be relieved more than high earners. First, the “Bild am Sonntag” reported on the plans. According to the Ministry of Labour, employers could pay out the money with wages and then get it back from the state by paying less wage tax.
According to the proposal, the self-employed could deduct the premium from their income tax prepayment. The coalition is also considering further supplements for recipients of basic security and pensioners.
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A working group is currently discussing the relief package, which includes one representative each from the party, the parliamentary group and the government from the three coalition partners SPD, Greens and FDP.
Lindner’s tank discount is met with skepticism by coalition partners
Even before Heil’s proposal for a mobility allowance, FDP leader and Finance Minister Christian Lindner had proposed a fuel discount to relieve commuters. Accordingly, the state should take over part of the fuel bill and thus reduce the fuel price for consumers to below two euros per liter.
>> Read here: How Finance Minister Christian Lindner defended his idea of a tank discount in an interview
The gas station operators should then not settle with the state for each individual refueling process, but on the basis of the total amount of liters sold, as Lindner explained in the Handelsblatt interview.
However, the plan is met with skepticism by the coalition partners. “The Lindner initiative cannot be administered, is nonsense in terms of distribution policy and has a devastating ecological effect,” said the labor market and social policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Martin Rosemann, to the Handelsblatt.
Because the model does not provide any incentives to do without the car or to opt for vehicles with low consumption: “Anyone who has a car with 14 liters consumption in the garage at home would benefit the most from it,” said IG Metall boss Jörg Hofmann the Handelsblatt.
In addition, there is not only a problem with high petrol prices, but also with the increased heating costs, emphasized SPD politician Rosemann. Economics Minister Robert Habeck also said on ARD that the tank discount was “well intentioned”, but that there was still a need for discussion.
The high price of gas is reflected in consumers’ heating bills.
(Photo: imago images/Future Image)
The nine-strong working group, which actually wanted to be finished this Monday, is now faced with the challenge of finding a compromise that will allow a face-saving solution for Lindner. The tank discount is “under no circumstances off the table,” said FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr of the “Bild” newspaper.
Trade union federation calls for action against “moon prices” of mineral oil companies
Time is of the essence, because citizens feel the high prices every day at the petrol pump and soon also on their heating bills. In a position paper, the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) is therefore calling on the federal government to relieve consumers in the short term.
>> Read here: Why the price of gas stays high while the price of oil falls
The best way to do this would be to reduce the electricity tax to the minimum stipulated by European law and a temporary reduction in VAT on electricity and gas. If gas prices continue to rise, one must also think about capping the end consumer price up to normal consumption.
The trade union confederation also calls for all antitrust and regulatory measures to be exhausted if “unjustified moon prices” are demanded at gas stations despite falling oil prices.
The energy money proposed by the Greens is probably not suitable for short-term relief because the administrative process has not yet been clarified. The energy money is “absolutely sensible”, emphasized Vice Chancellor Habeck in the ARD program “Report from Berlin”.
However, since it is currently a package that has to take effect quickly, it is possible that one will initially focus on other solutions. The concept of the energy money envisages that income from the CO2 price is paid back to the citizens as a per capita premium.
In a first relief package for citizens, the traffic light had already decided to raise the basic allowance, the flat-rate income tax allowance and, limited to 2026, the flat-rate commuter allowance for long-distance commuters. From July, the surcharge under the Renewable Energy Sources Act will also be removed from consumers’ electricity bills and financed by the state. There is an immediate surcharge for children from low-income families.
More on this: The relief package of the traffic light coalition totals 15.6 billion euros