The relief should now reach households and companies a little earlier.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The gas price brake is to take effect a month earlier than previously planned. This emerges from the decision proposed by the Chancellery for the Prime Ministers’ Conference on Wednesday.
“As proposed by the experts, the gas price brake will be introduced on March 1, 2023. A retrospective effect as of February 1, 2023 is sought,” says the paper that was available to the Handelsblatt. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the heads of government of the federal states will meet on Wednesday to discuss financial issues.
Weeks ago, the federal government announced that it would implement proposals from an expert commission for a gas price brake from March. The countries, however, had already requested the start on January 1st. February 1st could now be a compromise.
In addition to the beginning, some other details of the help are still open. The Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer (SPD), therefore expects the federal government to “specify the design of the electricity price and gas price brakes more precisely” at the meeting, she told the Handelsblatt.
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Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) stated that the federal government wanted to stay as close as possible to the proposals of the experts when implementing the gas price brake.
The traffic light wants to relieve private households and smaller companies from March by receiving payments amounting to 80 percent of their gas consumption at twelve cents per kilowatt hour. They should receive a one-off payment for the transition in December.
Industry should also be relieved
For larger companies, the procurement price should be curbed directly. They should come to a similar price level as households and smaller companies. This applies above all to bulk consumers from industry.
According to Habeck’s ideas, these should also be able to resell the subsidized gas. This is intended to provide incentives to save energy.
This proposal can also be found in the final report of the expert commission. Chancellor Scholz had not yet agreed with this view on Monday. He doesn’t think it’s right for companies to be able to resell the subsidized gas.
Economics Minister Habeck also showed sympathy for a decision by the Budget Committee that those who benefited from the energy price brakes should not pay dividends and pay bonuses. He follows that logic, he said. However, he qualified that it is particularly important that the aid can be paid out quickly.
In the case of private households, the detailed work is currently mainly about making the gas price brake as fair as possible. In its basic construction, it could relieve villa owners more than low-income earners. The federal government had therefore already announced that it would subject the aid to income tax.
Habeck explained that he imagines the limit at around 75,000 euros in taxable income. One orients oneself on the limit at the solidarity surcharge. Anyone who has to pay tax on their help should state this in their tax return as a “monetary benefit”.
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