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Electricity and gas: Energy industry calls for a reduction in VAT

2022-08-15T05:34:34.586Z


Federal Minister of Finance Linder wants to achieve the price increases for gas and electricity by waiving VAT on the gas levy. From the point of view of the energy industry, that is not enough.


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Gas meter: Thrift is the best cost brake

Photo: IMAGO/Rene Traut

In view of the exploding energy prices, the energy industry is demanding a reduction in VAT on gas and electricity.

According to a paper by the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), the levy on the gas and electricity price should be reduced from 19 percent to the reduced rate of 7 percent from January 1, 2023.

According to the paper, the reduced rate should initially apply for at least two years.

"Rising prices for gas and electricity due to higher procurement costs are a burden for households and companies and make instruments with a price-dampening effect indispensable - in addition to direct relief for low-income households in particular," said Kerstin Andreae, CEO.

The cancellation of the EEG surcharge has dampened the price dynamics a little since July 2022.

Due to the ever-increasing procurement costs, however, further price increases are the result, which make it necessary to reduce other state-induced elements.

"This applies to both the electricity price and the gas price, since in addition to the enormously increased procurement costs, further sharply rising prices are to be expected with the gas procurement and gas storage levy," she said.

Inflation could rise to more than 10 percent

The institute for macroeconomics, which is close to the trade unions, assumes that the inflation rate in Germany could rise to more than ten percent as a result.

The share of the gas surcharge alone amounts to up to two percentage points.

By reducing the tax from 19 percent to 7 percent, all households could be relieved, it said.

"With a reduction in VAT, the state's revenue would still be (slightly) above the level of revenue from a pre-corona year like 2019," said Andreae.

A cancellation or reduction of the value added tax on the gas levies, as sought by Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), would involve a great deal of bureaucracy on the one hand and only a small relief on the other, it said.

A state gas levy will mean additional costs for millions of customers from autumn.

The government intends to announce the amount of the levy on Monday.

The Ministry of Economics recently assumed a range of 1.5 to 5 cents per kilowatt hour, which would mean considerable additional costs for customers.

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) had said that he expected "several hundred euros per household" per year.

Relief effect of up to 516 euros

Green party leader Ricarda Lang has spoken out in favor of presenting a new relief package in parallel with the introduction of the gas levy in October.

"Even if everyone has to pay the high energy prices, it will be people with small and medium-sized incomes in particular who will face considerable difficulties," Lang said on Monday in Berlin.

"The goal must be that they benefit absolutely more from the relief than those with strong shoulders who can carry more."

According to the calculations of the BDEW, the relief effect of a reduction in VAT for a single-family house with a consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours per year would be between 356 euros and 516 euros per year.

For an apartment in an apartment building with a consumption of 13,333 kilowatt hours, it would be between 237 euros and 344 euros.

According to the BDEW, if the VAT on the gas levies were abolished or reduced, the relief would be between EUR 57 and EUR 190 per year for a single-family house, EUR 38 and EUR 127 per year for an apartment.

At the same time, the BDEW appealed again to gas consumers not to let up on saving gas.

“In order to get through the winter well, it is important to further reduce gas consumption and to fill up the gas storage tanks as much as possible for the rest of the summer,” says Andreae.

Everyone can and must help - »from industrial companies to individual households«.

In almost every household and in public buildings there are still ways to save energy.

According to the Federal Network Agency, gas consumption in Germany in the first seven months was almost 14 percent below that of the same period last year.

According to the BDEW, the main reasons for this are the mild weather and the high level of gas prices.

According to BDEW, power generation from gas has been declining since mid-2021.

In the first half of 2022, around twelve percent less electricity was generated in gas-fired power plants than in the same period last year.

It is not yet possible to say in detail what contribution other consumption groups have made to the lower gas consumption.

mike/dpa

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2022-08-15

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