Tank discount: Diesel costs over two euros again – “From idiots for idiots”

Created: 06/12/2022, 04:52

By: Patricia Huber

The tank discount hardly ever arrives at the pump.

Consumers are furious over the relief debacle.

© Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa

The tank discount was actually intended to relieve consumers.

Nevertheless, fuel prices are slowly reaching record levels again.

Munich – The fuel discount from the federal government's relief package was actually intended to make refueling cheaper for drivers.

The tax cut should make diesel around 17 cents cheaper.

With petrol it is even 35 cents.

But the discount is hardly ever received by consumers.

Tank discount: Diesel almost at record level again

Now, for the first time since the tax cut, diesel costs more than two euros on a daily average nationwide.

For Wednesday (June 8), the ADAC reported a value of 2.007 euros per liter on Thursday.

That's 1.5 cents more than the day before.

This means that the fuel now costs almost as much as it did before the discount was introduced on June 1st.

On Wednesday, only 3.7 cents were missing from the price of May 31st.

The development is going in the absolutely wrong direction, said an ADAC spokesman.

"Prices should go down, not up."

With the rising fuel prices, the calls for a so-called excess profit tax are getting louder and louder.

With the introduction of such a tax, companies that benefit from the crisis triggered by the Ukraine war would have to pay more taxes.

However, the German federal government is divided: while the SPD and the Greens are in favor of an excess profit tax, the FDP is putting the brakes on it.

Tank discount: Social media users rage against tax waste

At the pump, however, it is becoming clear right now that the mineral oil companies are massively exploiting the situation and are clearly profiting from the crisis.

With a one-time tax on crisis profits, the federal government could redistribute this return and use it for society.

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There is dissatisfaction with the actions of the mineral oil companies in the social networks.

Many social media users accuse Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) of wasting tax money with the tank discount.

"The tank discount primarily means a transfer of three billion euros in tax money from taxpayers to the pockets of the oil companies," writes Marcel Fratzscher, President of the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin, on Twitter.

Another Twitter user is also annoyed and writes: “Let the Germans bleed at the gas station because of record prices.

You don't deserve anything else.

The tank discount has fizzled out – from idiots for idiots.”