Gas levy tilts?

Now Lindner is also turning around

Created: 09/26/2022, 04:49 am

By: Alexander Eser-Ruperti

Surprising turnaround: Christian Lindner moves away from the gas levy.

After a quarrel with Habeck, the Minister of Finance suddenly asked the "question of economic purpose".

Berlin – There is a surprising turn in the dispute over the gas surcharge: Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who was actually considered a vehement advocate of the measure, suddenly poses the “economic question of meaning”.

Recently there had been various voices from politics that called for a renewed review of the levy.

Calls for it came mainly from the Greens and SPD, while Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has so far opposed it.

How does it go from here?

Energy crisis: gas levy tilts?

Now Lindner is also asking the "economic sense question"

In the energy crisis, the costs for consumers continue to rise, which is partly due to the gas surcharge, which is to apply from October.

While Lars Klingbeil recently also called for the measure to be reviewed, the cause increasingly became a point of contention between Finance Minister Lindner and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens).

Now Christian Lindner seems to have reconsidered his position.

The finance minister told

: “We have a gas levy that increases the price.

But we need a gas price brake that lowers the price."

The result: "With the gas levy, the legal question is less important to me than the economic question," says Lindner.

Consumers are wondering whether the gas surcharge will now tip.

Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner asks the "economic sense" of the gas surcharge.

(Archive image) © Kay Nietfeld/dpa

Robert Habeck had previously announced a renewed review, although he does not plan to abolish it directly.

Lindner, whose company should have carried out the test, contradicted this publicly and declared: "There is no further test, it has been completed." Now the finance minister is suddenly questioning the gas surcharge, and consumers are asking a price increase of 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour brings.

Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) immediately called for the introduction of a gas price cap because of the high energy costs.

Weil is also demanding an electricity price brake due to the exploding electricity prices in 2022.

Gas surcharge in Germany in the energy crisis: Experts criticize the measure after the nationalization of Uniper

After the Uniper nationalization was announced, the measure was also viewed increasingly critically by experts.

Claudia Kemfert from the German Institute for Economic Research explained to various media reports that the surcharge must be abolished.

Kemfert it would "otherwise be paid practically twice".

The energy crisis is already putting a massive strain on households, and the gas levy in Germany will incur additional costs.

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Economic wise Veronika Grimm also explained to the broadcaster

: "The gas levy passes on the procurement costs to the supplier, even if they are no longer in trouble.

I don't think that's legitimate.” The pressure on Finance Minister Lindner had recently increased drastically, but so far he had been unyielding.

His current statements on the gas levy in Germany are therefore surprising.

It is still unclear what the consequences of this will be for the measure – but it is possible that the Treasury Department could again do a re-examination.