When will the German government's measures during the energy price crisis reach citizens? Finance Minister Klingbeil says it will take several weeks.
The war in Iran has led to a new energy crisis and rising fuel prices. For this reason, the German coalition government wants to intervene with a reduction in fuel taxes and ease the burden on citizens during the energy crisis. The measures recently announced by the government were: Cheaper fuel and a bonus of 1.000 euros: But when will the planned relief of the tax reduction come to gas stations and the wallets of German citizens?
According to Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, this should happen “as soon as possible.” The SPD leader said this in an interview with the dpa news agency, but it will take some time. “If it were up to me, we should have approved this by the beginning of May at the latest.” The coalition does not want to waste time. It will take several weeks for the tax cuts to be reflected at gas stations. According to a report in the Bild newspaper, the head of the Union parliamentary group, Jens Spahn, has also spoken to the CDU federal leadership about an implementation “at the beginning of May.” However, the legislative process must be completed before that happens.
Criticism from experts
The measures announced by the German government have also been criticized: Oliver Holtemöller, vice president of the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research in Halle (IWH), considers the federal government's relief plans to be ineffective. "We improve the situation for some people, who then pay a little less at the gas station, but overall this does not bring any improvement for the country," criticized Holtemöller. The measures are "not suitable for achieving the goal. Currently, relief is being provided with a 'drainage', which is ultimately very expensive and leads to large, unqualified profit effects," IWH vice president Oliver Holtemöller told MDR.
At least some positive assessments of the government come from the head of the German Trade Union Confederation, Yasmin Fahimi. She calls the planned reduction in the tax on petroleum minerals a good signal. /DW
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