"Not transferable": According to Habeck, the gas levy should not be taxed
Created: 08/05/2022, 16:22
By: Lucas Maier
In view of the crisis, the federal government is planning a gas surcharge.
It is not yet clear whether this will be subject to tax or not.
Habeck and Lindner agree, however.
Berlin - "The surcharge is a difficult step, but it is necessary to ensure the gas supply," is how Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) described the latest step in the gas crisis.
The so-called gas levy will enable gas suppliers to pass on additional costs incurred by purchasing more expensive gas to end consumers.
Since gas supplies from Russia were curtailed against the background of the Ukraine war, the government felt compelled to take this step.
On Thursday (August 4th), the federal cabinet agreed on the introduction of the gas levy, reports the
German Press Agency (dpa)
.
Gas in Germany: Consumers will face costs from autumn
The planned gas levy will mean additional costs for gas customers from autumn.
"It's almost cynical that the state still earns money from the special levy via VAT," Jens Spahn (CDU) criticized the levy, according to
dpa
.
Additional costs due to the gas levy (including VAT of 19 percent)
Single household:
In a household with a consumption of 5,000 kilowatt hours (per year), an additional load of 89 to 298 euros must be expected.
Family:
A household with a consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours (per year) has to reckon with additional costs of 357 to 1,190 euros.
Source:
Verivox/Check24/dpa
But the government itself also sees a need for improvement here.
A value-added tax on the gas levy is "not negotiable," according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Habeck and Lindner: FDP and Greens seem to be on the same page
"It would be wrong to levy VAT on the levy," said Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) to the
Tagesspiegel
.
And similar sounds are also coming from the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Additional costs due to the gas surcharge (minus VAT of 19 percent)
Single household:
In a household with a consumption of 5,000 kilowatt hours (per year), in the event of a surcharge of 5 cents per kilowatt hour, an additional charge of 250 euros instead of 298 euros must be expected.
Family:
A household with a consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours (per year) must expect an additional charge of 1,000 euros instead of 1,190 euros in the event of a levy of 5 cents per kilowatt hour.
Source:
Check24/dpa
The boss of the house, Christian Lindner, does not want to burden gas customers any further.
"As Federal Minister of Finance, I don't want to tax the gas levy," the FDP man told the
dpa
on Friday (5 August) .
Gas crisis in Germany: EU law puts Lindner under pressure
However, non-taxation of the planned gas surcharge requires more than just the goodwill of the ministries.
Because the way the previous draft for the gas surcharge looks, taxes must be levied on it under EU law.
Gas and energy crisis in Germany: will there be no taxes on gas?
(Archive image) © Lars Klemmer/dpa
Habeck is confident in this matter: He assumes that the Ministry of Finance will find ways to enable non-taxation.
The Minister of Finance himself was recently highly motivated.
"I will now exhaust all legal and political options to avert an additional burden," said Lindner
.
It remains to be seen whether he and his ministry will ultimately succeed in averting the tax burden for the middle class.
The opposition has already announced that it will apply for the regulation to be repealed if it is not improved.
(Lucas Maier with dpa
)