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"Resounding slap in the face", "disrespectful": Habeck explains the gas levy - fireworks of anger and warnings follow

2022-08-27T03:08:59.018Z


"Resounding slap in the face", "disrespectful": Habeck explains the gas levy - fireworks of anger and warnings follow Created: 2022-08-27 04:57 By: Florian Naumann The gas surcharge is coming. Robert Habeck explained the traffic light plans on Monday – warnings of dire consequences quickly hailed. What it's about: Berlin – On Monday afternoon, Robert Habeck could clearly see that he was not co


"Resounding slap in the face", "disrespectful": Habeck explains the gas levy - fireworks of anger and warnings follow

Created: 2022-08-27 04:57

By: Florian Naumann

The gas surcharge is coming.

Robert Habeck explained the traffic light plans on Monday – warnings of dire consequences quickly hailed.

What it's about:

Berlin – On Monday afternoon, Robert Habeck could clearly see that he was not completing a pleasant appointment.

With a rather pained expression, the Green explained the causes and consequences of the new gas surcharge.

Without a doubt, the most noticeable of these is that private customers and companies have to pay more for gas.

A few hours earlier, a joint venture of the gas suppliers had announced the amount of the levy.

The Economics Minister and Vice Chancellor did not want to speak of an alternative step.

But he presented the choices quite drastically. “The alternative isn't 'no pay.'

The alternative would have been the collapse of the German energy market and with it large parts of the European energy market.” “This levy is the fairest possible form,” Habeck explained.

But there are doubts about that – even if Habeck, like Chancellor Olaf Scholz, quickly put relief on the agenda.

Social associations, parties and business representatives see major problems in Germany.

And some unfinished homework.

A question about the role of the coalition partner FDP also made the Greens sweat a bit.

Economics Minister Robert Habeck sees good reasons for the gas flat rate - and is receiving criticism from all directions.

© Odd Andersen/AFP

Gas surcharge: New traffic light Zoff?

Habeck avoids questions about the role of the FDP

A journalist wanted to know whether a tax-financed compensation would not have been fairer for the gas suppliers, who were hit by expensive purchase prices and, in some cases, long-term low customer contracts.

"The political framework under which this coalition works was clear from the start," said Habeck.

In this respect, the only question that arose was whether the surcharge would be levied for all gas customers or only for those providers affected by the Russian gas ban.

The federal government opted for a “broad” solution.

Is that a dig at the liberals' categorical no to tax increases?

Habeck dodged after a short panting.

“We have agreed on the levy,” he emphasized.

There was also no counter-motion to “do anything else”.

Accordingly, only gas customers are now affected - but all of them.

Calculations are quickly circulating as to what the new levy could cost consumers.

For a family with a consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours it could be 576 euros per year, for a single household 144 euros.

If the EU allows Germany not to levy VAT on the levy, the amounts will drop accordingly.

Habeck immediately announced relief, should that not be the case.

He also promised people who were under a lot of stress general "targeted" help.

In a tweet, Scholz even spoke of a whole other relief package.

Nevertheless, the criticism is great - there is no lack of further demands.

Gas prices - Habeck admits: Further charges could come

The crossfire of warnings comes from both directions of those affected.

Social associations, but also the left, for example, are calling for new models for financially weaker households.

The CSU is also asking for help.

On the other hand, the industry already sees itself in new troubles.

Incidentally, it does not seem clear that the additional costs due to the gas surcharge will remain.

"This levy is not the only levy that exists," admitted Habeck - albeit probably the one with the highest volume.

He cited the storage levy as an example.

An announcement will be made "soon".

Some allocations are "old", but often "zero".

Habeck did not want to name any cost points - but it would "clearly not" be about the amount of the gas surcharge.

Gas surcharge is coming: Relief for private gas customers - the demands and ideas on Monday

  • Social quota:

    The Verdi union brought up a gas price cap for “normal consumption” for a family of four of 12,000 kilowatt hours.

    The costs for this amount of gas would have to be capped at the 2021 level.

  • Financial injections elsewhere:

    Greens leader Ricarda Lang explained: "In addition to a greatly expanded housing benefit or higher child benefit, a new edition of the energy price flat rate could also be suitable." The FDP was immediately skeptical.

    In the person of its boss Adolf Bauer, the Social Association Germany called for “poverty-proof standard rates”, the introduction of basic child security, a housing benefit reform and the payment of the 300-euro energy flat rate to people who are retired.

  • Value-added tax reduction:

    Not only the value-added tax on the cost surcharge through the levy is a starting point: the energy industry association BDEW proposed reducing the entire value-added tax on the gas and electricity price to the reduced rate of seven percent, for at least two years .

    Companies would also benefit from this.

  • Large relief package:

    "To present the gas surcharge without a relief program at the same time is disrespectful," said CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt of the dpa.

    A relief package is urgently needed.

    Otherwise the energy costs would become a poverty trap for many families.

    The CSU politician was not more specific.

  • Financing through taxes instead of a levy:

    The energy expert at the NRW consumer advice centre, Udo Sieverding, criticized the injustices in the levy model.

    Anyone who heats with coal, oil or heat pumps has been lucky, he said on the Phoenix TV station.

    Gas customers paid the bill for wrong decisions they did not make: "So tax financing would have been better." Green leader Lang also thought about a tax solution - but in a different way: A tax on war-related excess profits could help "to relieve those who suffer the most from rising prices".

  • Other ways of calculating:

    The Left doubted the mathematical ways of collecting the levy.

    “The calculation seems quite arbitrary.

    If suppliers who are not in the red can collect the levy, that is an impertinence towards the citizens," said parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch.

    He didn't give any details either.

    Bartsch threatened protests: "We need a hot autumn of protests against the energy policy of the federal government." Party leader Martin Schirdewan, like Lang, thought of an excess profit tax.

    He reprimanded a “resounding slap” in the face, especially of low-income households.

  • Postponement until the relief package:

    There are still many unanswered questions - the government must therefore postpone the introduction of the levy, the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations demanded: "As long as the coalition is arguing about further relief measures, the levy should be tax-financed."

Gas surcharge also for industry - the demands from the economy:

  • Relief for companies:

    The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce pointed to rising costs for companies.

    "The gas price level has not only reached a critical level, but in many cases a level that is threatening the existence of the company," explained DIHK President Peter Adrian.

    "The economy now needs clarity about the announced relief measures quickly, otherwise there is a risk of a cascade of plant closures and production stops."

  • Extension of time:

    The Federation of German Industries called for support for companies that were particularly in need of protection.

    "Politicians should consider extending the surcharge beyond 2024, because the costs will overwhelm many companies," said Deputy General Manager Holger Loesch, according to the announcement.

  • Support for struggling businesses:

    The housing companies called for funding from the state.

    These are particularly affected, "because they already have to pre-finance the sharply rising costs through significantly higher payments to the suppliers," explained the President of the GdW Association, Axel Gedaschko.

    Some socially oriented housing companies would already bring the high advance payments into acute financial difficulties.

    "The first step must therefore be guarantee programs to secure the liquidity of housing companies that are otherwise at risk of insolvency."

Gas levy for Germany coming: Habeck attacks Putin and his predecessors

However, there was also encouragement.

If the surcharge were to be dispensed with, the risk of insolvency would increase on the part of the suppliers.

"Customers would then have to sign new contracts at the much higher daily prices," said the Kiel economist Stefan Kooths.

Ultimately, the cost increase is not due to the gas surcharge, but to the higher import prices for natural gas.

"If gas suppliers pass on a gross gas surcharge of 2.419 cents per kilowatt hour to customers across the board, this should raise the inflation rate by almost one percentage point (0.9 percentage points) towards the end of the year," calculated Kooths.

This model failed.

And it doesn't come back either.

Robert Habeck on Germany's dependence on Russian natural gas

Habeck also left no doubt as to who he believed to be to blame for the situation: Vladimir Putin – and at least indirectly the previous governments.

Putin is waging an "economic war," said the Green.

At the same time, Germany had “developed a business model that was largely based on dependence on cheap Russian gas” – “this model failed.

And it won't come back," stressed Habeck.

(

fn with material from AFP and dpa

)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-08-27

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