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Gas surcharge: there are legal problems – “must be clarified”

2022-08-05T03:43:02.299Z


Gas surcharge: there are legal problems – “must be clarified” Created: 08/05/2022 05:34 By: Lisa Mayerhofer The federal government wants the gas surcharge to come in October. But there are legal problems with the implementation. It's about gas customers with fixed-price contracts. Berlin – The federal government is planning a state gas surcharge, which is expected to result in significant pric


Gas surcharge: there are legal problems – “must be clarified”

Created: 08/05/2022 05:34

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

The federal government wants the gas surcharge to come in October.

But there are legal problems with the implementation.

It's about gas customers with fixed-price contracts.

Berlin – The federal government is planning a state gas surcharge, which is expected to result in significant price increases for consumers.

The surcharge is to be introduced in October for companies and private households and will benefit gas suppliers who have to buy replacement gas volumes from Russia at high prices for the missing, cheaper gas volumes.

Gas surcharge: traffic light coalition is examining the elimination of VAT

But before the gas surcharge can be implemented, the traffic light coalition still has a lot to clarify: Firstly, there is the question of whether VAT should be dropped on the surcharge – which would mean a significant cost difference for consumers.

“The levy must not be a basis for further tax revenue.

That is why it is currently being examined whether the VAT can be applied to the levy," said the energy policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Michael Kruse, to the

dpa

on Wednesday after a special session of the Bundestag's energy and climate committee.

"If this is not technically possible, it is clear to me that the additional government revenue must be returned to consumers together with further relief."

A spokesman for the Ministry of Finance said that according to the current legal situation, the gas levy is part of the assessment basis for calculating sales tax.

The ministry is examining ways to ensure that gas customers do not incur any additional burdens in this context.

The CDU energy politician Andreas Jung told the

world that

the federal government must immediately withdraw its plan to add 19 percent VAT to the gas surcharge.

"The state must not make money from this additional burden."

The federal government wants the gas surcharge to come in October.

(Archive image) © Stefan Sauer/dpa

Gas surcharge threatens legal problems - details must be clarified

There are also legal problems with the implementation of the levy.

Specifically, the question is whether customers with fixed-price contracts have to pay the levy.

A spokesman for Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) spoke on Wednesday of a detail that had to be clarified.

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The general manager of the Stadtwerkeverband VKU, Ingbert Liebing, said that legal issues in dealing with different fixed price contracts must be clarified.

Otherwise, the public utilities would have to pay the levy, but would not be allowed to pass on the costs.

This is how expensive the gas surcharge will be for consumers – with and without VAT

Habeck recently named a range of 1.5 to 5 cents per kilowatt hour in which the gas levy is expected to move.

For an average four-person household with a consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours per year, that would be 300 to 1000 euros.

In addition, drastic market-driven price increases are gradually reaching customers anyway.

According to calculations by the comparison portal Verivox, the additional costs including VAT range from 1.5 cents to 5 cents per kilowatt hour for a single household with an annual consumption of 5000 kilowatt hours of gas per year between 89 euros and 298 euros.

In a couple household with an annual consumption of 12,000 kilowatt hours, the additional costs would be between 214 and 714 euros, for a household with a single-family house and an annual consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours between 357 and 1190 euros.

According to Verivox, if VAT were to be eliminated, the single household would be relieved by between 14 and 48 euros, the couple household by 34 to 114 euros and the household with a single-family house by between 57 and 190 euros.

(lma/dpa)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-08-05

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