Commuter allowance: Significant increase from 2023?

"Lindner proposal torpedoes traffic turnaround"

Created: 2022-07-20Updated: 2022-07-20 10:41 am

By: Patrick Freiwah

Burning petrol canister on a street: Minister of Finance Christian Lindner is campaigning for a higher commuter allowance (symbolic image).

© IMAGO/Christoph Hardt

Christian Lindner wants to relieve German drivers with a higher commuter allowance.

While the Union agrees with the finance minister, critics see a contradiction.

Berlin - Is there an increase in the commuter allowance due to the massive inflation in Germany?

Christian Lindner (FDP) has proposed a general increase in view of the sharp rise in energy prices to relieve citizens.

The Federal Finance Minister is open to "significantly increasing the commuter allowance from 2023," said the department head on Twitter.

In his opinion, the measure should apply “from the first kilometer and not just for long-distance commuters”.

"The many people who commute to work every day are particularly affected by the high energy costs," explains Lindner.

"If everyone in the coalition takes this problem seriously," he said, he was open to a "significantly higher overall commuter allowance" from next year.

Commuter flat rate due to inflation: Union supports Lindner - Left see contradiction

However, this is already the sticking point of the implementation: the 43-year-old receives support for his request from the opposition camp of the Union.

However, the initiative is less popular with the coalition partners and the left also points out that low earners would not benefit in some cases.

"Relieving commuters of moon prices at the gas station is right," said Christian Görke, spokesman for finance for the left-wing faction.

For him, however, the commuter allowance has “a design flaw: Because it lowers the taxable income, the manager with the highest income is relieved more than the skilled worker for the same commute distance.” And the part-time cashier, who earns so little that she doesn’t pay income tax, remain "completely sitting on their travel expenses".

From the Union camp there is approval for an increase in the commuter allowance: "Commuting must remain affordable," explains Axel Knoerig (CDU), chairman of the workers' group of the Union faction.

In rural areas in particular, it is hardly or not at all possible for employees to switch to local public transport.

"SPD and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen should therefore not block Christian Lindner's advance and allow relief for those who also need this help."

Higher commuter allowance due to energy crisis?

"Lindner torpedoes traffic turnaround"

However, there are fears that the state commuter allowance will impair the necessary traffic turnaround: "After the (failed, ed.) tank discount, the next billion-dollar gift for motorists," criticizes the managing director of Pro-Rail Alliance, Dirk Flege.

Because the commuter allowance flows "up to 80 percent to drivers" and is "rightly" listed by the Federal Environment Agency "in the list of environmentally harmful subsidies".

"Finance Minister Lindner is torpedoing the turnaround in traffic and the switch to buses and trains wherever he can."

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And the Greens have also made negative comments about a higher commuter allowance: the deputy leader of the parliamentary group, Andreas Audretsch, said when asked by the

: "Simply raising the commuter allowance would primarily benefit people who earn a lot and would offer no incentives to to save more fuel.”