Status: 06/10/2022 1:11 p.m
On the initiative of Bremen, the Federal Council has dealt with an excess profit tax for the first time. In this way, war profiteers such as mineral oil companies are to be taxed extra. There has not yet been a vote.
As announced, Bremen has introduced a legislative initiative for a so-called excess profit tax in the Bundesrat. The mayor of the Hanseatic city, Andreas Bovenschulte, sees a need for action, especially in the energy sector: “In the first quarter of this year alone, the four oil giants Shell, BP, Exxon and Total increased their net profit from around 15 billion to around 34 billion US dollars compared to the previous year than double it,” said the SPD politician. “According to calculations by the International Energy Agency, the increased energy prices are likely to flush the coffers of the corporations an additional 200 billion euros this year.”
Bovenschulte criticized that the general public was paying while some corporations cashed in. He therefore does not only consider an excess profit tax to be absolutely necessary in order to secure social and societal peace. “In view of the billions in costs of the relief measures that have already been decided and those that will still be necessary, it is also absolutely necessary in order not to jeopardize the sustainability of public budgets and to keep new borrowing within reasonable limits.”
Expert committees are now discussing the application
The motion for a resolution, which was also supported by Berlin and Thuringia, was referred to the specialist committees after it had been presented in plenary. According to the Bremen Senate, they will deal with it from June 20th. When these deliberations are complete, the bill goes back to the plenary agenda of the Bundesrat – then to a vote on whether the Bundesrat wants to pass the resolution and forward it to the federal government.
Bremen’s Mayor Bovenschulcriticized: The general public pays while some corporations cash in.
Image: dpa
Examples in Italy and Great Britain
In the traffic light coalition, it is the Greens in particular who are in favor of an excess profit tax, which is intended to skim off the profits made by oil companies as a result of the war and its consequences. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil was open to the project at the weekend. The FDP rejects such a tax. Examples of an excess profits tax can be found in Italy and the UK.