Berlin The federal government wants to demand a lower VAT rate on natural gas for a limited period. Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Thursday that the tax should be reduced from the previous 19 to 7 percent. With the step, the gas customers would be relieved overall much more than they would be burdened by the state gas surcharge. The SPD politician said he expects companies to pass on the tax cut one-to-one to consumers. “This is another step towards relief.”
Scholz also announced a new relief package in the coming weeks. This is intended to alleviate the great pressure that is weighing on many citizens and companies. “We are confidentially discussing what the package looks like in the government. The question of justice is crucial for the country to stick together in this crisis.” Scholz repeated the saying: “You’ll never walk alone.”
The reason for the reduction in value-added tax on natural gas is the gas levy, which importers can use from October to pass on increased procurement costs to consumers as a result of the war in Ukraine. All gas users, whether private individuals or companies, will then have to pay – initially around 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour. Value added tax is also charged on the fee.
The federal government actually wanted to prevent this and thus ensure that the state did not earn money. According to European law, however, there is no provision for waiving VAT. The legal framework does not allow for any exceptions, wrote EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni in a letter to Finance Minister Christian Lindner. However, the federal government has the option of reducing the applicable VAT to the EU minimum rate of 5 percent.
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The traffic light coalition does not choose this step. Instead, she wants to use the reduced tax rate of 7 percent. In Germany, a VAT rate of 19 percent usually applies. However, 7 percent apply to selected goods. The tax relief that has now been announced should apply for the period of the gas surcharge, i.e. until the end of March 2024.
About half of all households in the Federal Republic heat with gas. According to example calculations, the surcharge for a one-person household with an annual consumption of 5000 kilowatt hours means annual additional costs of around 121 euros, even without VAT. For a family household with an annual consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours, the additional costs without VAT are around 484 euros per year.
More: 12,000 euros a year – that’s how expensive it gets to heat a house with gas