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Finance Minister Lindner: “Years overdue”
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Britta Pedersen / dpa
The Federal Court of Auditors issued an ultimatum to Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) to abolish vehicle tax reductions of around one billion euros.
Although an evaluation a few years ago showed that a number of tax advantages for vehicles used in agriculture and forestry were no longer up-to-date, the Ministry of Finance has not yet taken any steps to delete them, the editorial network quoted Germany from a report to the Bundestag.
A corresponding initiative by the ministry has been "years overdue" and must now be initiated "without further delay".
According to the report, the auditors refer, among other things, to a study commissioned by the Ministry of Finance in 2017 by the scientific research institute at the University of Cologne (FiFo Institute).
The study came to the conclusion that several perks were no longer appropriate with a view to sustainability, among other things.
According to the Federal Audit Office, the benefits complained about amount to one billion euros.
The motor vehicle tax brings in total revenue of around 9.5 billion euros.
phw/AFP/Reuters