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Protests against high fuel prices: Poorer countries particularly affected
Photo: IMAGO/Christoph Hardt / IMAGO/Future Image
Private individuals may be able to avoid additional taxes for CO₂ emissions.
According to information from the "Handelsblatt", as part of the new regulations for emissions trading for buildings and road traffic, only companies throughout Europe will in future pay the additional fee for refueling and heating.
The negotiators of the European Parliament agreed on this proposal for a law on Tuesday evening.
The agreement comes at the end of a long discussion about the meaning of emissions trading.
According to the pure doctrine, CO₂ taxes should be paid on all energy sources sold in the EU in order to give Europeans an incentive to use fossil fuels sparingly.
The most important counter-argument is social hardship: the poorer EU states would be particularly affected, so the objection, while hardly any effect would be expected in rich countries.
The compromise now provides for two different prices to be called at gas stations: the normal price for private individuals and a higher price for companies.
Companies would also have to pay more than private individuals when purchasing gas or heating oil.
If a state wants to avoid this, it must also voluntarily demand the CO₂ tax from private individuals, writes the »Handelsblatt«.
This is explicitly allowed and has long since been introduced in some countries, including Germany.
In other states, however, a complicated and fraud-prone system would arise.
Even MPs involved are skeptical that their proposal will ever become law.
mike
