So far, the Federal Government's climate protection program has met with criticism, above all from environmental protection organizations and researchers - now an important financial policy voice joins in: Bundesrechnungshof.
The inspectors have taken two measures and analyzed them in their report to the Finance Committee of the Bundestag. On the one hand, these are the tax rebates for energy-efficient building refurbishment and, on the other hand, the mobility bonus to be introduced for low-paid commuters.
With regard to climate protection in the building sector, the auditors warn that the tax rebate benefits "above all, well-paid taxpayers". "Taxpayers with pension income and low or middle income, however, they can not use or only partially," says the eleven-page report, the SPIEGEL. The law passed on Wednesday morning by the Federal Cabinet stipulates that building insulation or the purchase of a climate-friendly heating system is tax-deductible.
Consumer protection associations have already warned that this will hardly benefit pensioners who own a home, especially since they often lack the money to buy a heat pump instead of their old oil heater. The Bundesrechnungshof expressly shares these concerns. In addition, the officials warn that "significant enforcement problems" are foreseeable. The planned proof duties meant an additional effort for all involved. "Double funding" are "not excluded" because the financial management information is missing.
The auditors therefore propose to consider "direct and non-income support, which ensures that homeowners of all income classes can equally benefit from the support," they write.
Disproportionate administrative expenditure
Similarly negative is their verdict on the mobility premium: It is introduced for all those commuters whose income is below the basic allowance of 9408 euros. They can not claim the planned commuter tax of 35 cents per kilometer on the tax return because they pay no income tax at all. That applies to around 250,000 citizens. The Federal Government therefore wants to send the victims a so-called mobility bonus.
The Court of Auditors acknowledges the government's social purpose, but warns against its implementation in the financial administration. "The effort required to achieve this goal at the level of the administration could be out of proportion to the financial relief of € 40 million," the officials warn. Because the beneficiaries are "not at all taxed at the tax offices so far", they would have to be recaptured in order to enable payment of the premium. Even the Federal Ministry of Finance was not sure whether the measure is feasible until 2021 at all.
Left-wing MP Viktor Perli takes the Court's report as an opportunity to criticize the federal government. "The climate package of Union and SPD is socially unfair - this is now confirmed by the Federal Court of Audit," he said to SPIEGEL: "The tax law is clearly the wrong."
