New study calls for further heating cost subsidy 2022 for housing benefit recipients

Created: 09/01/2022, 16:48

By: Alexander Eser-Ruperti

The traffic light wants to bring new relief on the way.

A new study finds: Another heating cost subsidy for 2022 is needed.

Berlin – There is a lot of discussion about what a new federal government relief package for consumers could look like.

A press conference by Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens), Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) on the sidelines of the closed conference in Meseberg proved to be uninformative.

In the end, what kind of relief really comes about?

A new study comes to the conclusion that a further heating cost subsidy in 2022 for housing benefit recipients and a 29-euro monthly ticket for public transport would make sense.

Heating cost subsidy 2022: According to the study, housing benefit recipients should receive an additional heating cost subsidy

A DIW Econ study on relief measures commissioned by the Climate Alliance has been completed.

DIW Econ, a subsidiary of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), comes to a clear conclusion and one piece of advice for politicians: A heating subsidy for 2022 for housing benefit recipients is recommended, as is a 29-euro ticket for buses and trains.

In the scientific study, various possible relief measures were examined with regard to their ecological and social effects.

The ticket and the heating surcharge performed well.

Heating is getting expensive.

A current study recommends another heating cost subsidy in 2022 as a further relief measure.

(Iconic image) © IMAGO/Christian Ohde

Low-income households in particular are to be relieved by means of heating cost surcharges for housing benefit recipients.

The study finds that flat-rate payments do not lose the incentive to save energy.

For this very reason, the authors of the study advise against a gas price cap for basic needs.

They conclude that capping would no longer encourage savings.

Although Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) also recently expressed skepticism about such a price cap, it is still in the air.

Not all assessments correspond to the conclusions of the study.

Bremen's Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD) calls for an energy price cap for small and medium-sized companies.

When will the heating cost subsidy be paid out in 2022?

The first heating cost surcharge comes in September

The calls for a further heating cost subsidy in 2022 can hardly be overheard in view of the unaffordable heating costs for many.

The gas levy of 2.419 cents per kilowatt hour from October will also cause prices to rise.

While a new edition of the heating cost allowance is being debated, many people are still asking themselves the question of the first version of the measure, which was determined in the spring: When will the heating cost allowance be paid out in 2022?

The answer to this is that the federal states decide on this individually.

The heating cost subsidy 2022 that has been decided so far is intended to support financially disadvantaged households in particular.

These include people receiving housing benefit and Bafög recipients in Germany.

For example, while Bremen and Lower Saxony, along with Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and North Rhine-Westphalia, already paid out in July, Berlin, Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein followed in August.

Changes in September 2022 include payouts in Hamburg, Saarland and Saxony.

While Baden-Württemberg transfers from August to the end of October, there is still no precise information for Bavaria, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt.

Housing allowance for heating costs 2022, 29-euro ticket and changed food taxation demanded by DIW Econ

In addition to a housing allowance for heating costs in 2022 and a 29-euro ticket, DIW Econ recommends other measures.

The Institute also considers a change in the taxation of certain foods to be sensible in terms of ecological and social benefits.

Speaking of housing benefit: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) recently announced a “major” reform.

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For example, DIW Econ recommends reducing VAT on plant-based foods, while environmentally harmful foods such as meat should be taxed more heavily.

The researchers believe that the 29-euro ticket makes sense because it relieves consumers financially and encourages them to switch from cars to the climate-friendly alternative public transport.

What is clear so far is that almost nothing is clear.

Whether there will be another heating cost surcharge for the winter is still up in the air – but according to DIW Econ, the answer is unequivocal: “yes”.