As of: February 27, 2024, 3:04 p.m
Comments
Press
Split
Mona Neubaur (Alliance 90/The Greens), Minister for Economic Affairs.
© Oliver Berg/dpa
The Green Economics Minister Mona Neubaur has an “idea for the federal government”: The state should use a special fund to promote climate investments with flat-rate tax credits.
Düsseldorf - The North Rhine-Westphalian Economics Minister Mona Neubaur (Greens) has proposed the nationwide introduction of an investment allowance in order to create “ecological growth”.
It should be granted through a tax credit.
Neubaur spoke of an “investment booster”.
“In the end, this is a tax reduction of 25 percent across the board for investments that help climate neutrality and transformation,” said the minister on Monday in Düsseldorf when presenting the economic prospects for North Rhine-Westphalia.
The investment allowance should be granted over the depreciation period.
Neubaur put the annual costs at around 50 billion euros.
Financing should come from a special fund that should be anchored in the Basic Law.
“Earmarking and anchoring it in the Basic Law ensures legal and planning security for politicians and investors,” said a paper from the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Investments that demonstrably contribute to reducing carbon dioxide emissions should therefore be eligible for funding.
As an example, the ministry cited the expansion of renewable energies, hydrogen networks, energy-efficient building renovations, rail infrastructure, heating conversions, electromobility, hydrogen-based steel production, educational measures and research and development.
The tax reduction of 25 percent is a very simple, very low-bureaucracy procedure to give the economy investment security.
“This is our very concrete offer to offer a solution to the nationwide debate.”
According to Neubaur, the investment allowance should be offset against the next tax assessment.
A difference should even be paid out “if the allowance is higher than the tax to be paid”.
The settlement would take place across the country.
The minister emphasized that enshrining this in the Basic Law means planning security for companies.
They could then rely on receiving a 25 percent tax discount for every investment made to improve their carbon footprint.
Neubaur gave an investment cycle of ten years as an example of a period.
According to RWI economic researcher Torsten Schmidt, a special fund is “perhaps a way that you have to live with temporarily.” In the long term, however, he would expect “that such measures can then be accommodated in a household again.”
dpa