Heating costs: cash injection for Hartz IV recipients - FDP politicians want to create savings incentive
Created: 08/01/2022, 1:48 p.m
By: Lisa Mayerhofer
German consumers have to adjust to higher energy prices – also because of the gas surcharge.
FDP politician Lukas Köhler would like to reward Hartz IV recipients for saving energy in this context.
Berlin – From autumn, millions of gas customers will be faced with additional price increases due to a government levy.
Companies and private households will probably be charged an additional several hundred euros per year.
The surcharge is intended to benefit gas suppliers such as Uniper, who have to buy replacement gas from Russia at high prices.
In addition, the drastic price increases are gradually reaching customers anyway.
Social organizations warn that the higher costs will hit people with low incomes, such as Hartz IV recipients, hard.
Köhler: Hartz IV recipients should share in the savings on heating costs
The federal government has therefore also announced further relief for the planned surcharge - but what this should look like is not yet entirely clear.
The deputy chairman of the FDP parliamentary group, Lukas Köhler, made a suggestion for this at the weekend.
"For many people, the significantly increased prices are the most important incentive to save gas," said Köhler to the
editorial network Germany
.
"However, anyone who receives unemployment benefit II does not have this incentive, since the costs are usually fully borne by the job center."
Köhler continued: "In order to change that, I propose that the ALG II recipients be financially involved in the saved heating costs in the future." Those who use less gas than in previous years will then receive a large part of the heating costs saved as a result.
"Thus, economical heating would not only have an impact on gas consumption, but also directly on the account of the ALG II recipients." Köhler spoke of a "financial injection without additional costs for the taxpayer - on the contrary, because the state would ultimately benefit from it too benefit if part of the money saved is left in his coffers".
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Gas surcharge: Lang is for relief for Hartz IV recipients
The Greens co-chairman Ricarda Lang has also spoken out in favor of further relief because of the gas surcharge.
"If we now make a gas levy, then there must be further relief at the same time, so this year, this fall, we have to bring relief on the way," said Lang on Sunday in the ZDF summer interview.
Hartz IV recipients and other low-income people should benefit from the relief, said Lang.
With regard to financing, she advocated the introduction of an excess profit tax for companies with high profits as a result of the crisis.
FDP boss and Finance Minister Christian Lindner has so far been against an excess profit tax, partly because it is not to be applied precisely.
(lma/dpa)
