Status: 05.12.2022 3:40 p.m
In the annual tax law that has been passed, some energy companies are to make a temporary contribution to the energy crisis. The Union-led countries are expressing constitutional concerns and want to appeal to the mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat.
The five federal states led by the Union want to appeal to the mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat on the question of the so-called excess profit tax and other details of the annual tax law. This was announced by the finance ministries of Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Hesse.
The EU energy crisis contribution, which has become known as the excess profit tax, raises constitutional concerns in its planned implementation in Germany. The EU member states will be required to introduce a solidarity contribution, according to the request from the EU countries. With the implementation now presented, however, a further income tax will be introduced – in addition to existing taxes.
“In this form, the energy crisis contribution planned by the Federal Minister of Finance (Christian Lindner) represents a real income tax – it thus leaves the legal framework specified by the EU – and the whole thing is constitutionally extremely questionable,” said Bavaria’s Finance Minister Albert Füracker from the CSU of the dpa news agency .
Excess profit tax: Limited until 2023
Companies in the oil, gas, coal and refinery industries, which are making billions in profits due to the consequences of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and rising energy prices, are to make a contribution to the energy crisis – limited to the financial years 2022 and 2023. Profits that compared to that exceed the average profit by 20 percent in previous years are charged at 33 percent.
Last Friday, after the Bundestag had passed the annual tax law with extensive tax changes, Lindner wrote on Twitter: The law mainly contains good news, but also some “downer”. He didn’t want to talk about an “excess profit tax”, which he had long rejected. But the law says: “The EU energy crisis contribution is a tax within the meaning of the tax code.” The Federal Ministry of Finance bases its proposal on the minimum requirements of the EU. The ministry expects the measure to bring the federal government additional revenue of one to three billion euros.
Question of citizens’ freedom of self-determination
Füracker and his four colleagues also criticize the fact that the energy cost relief granted by the federal government should be taxed for higher earners among consumers. This leads to a bureaucracy monster. Landlords and property managers would have to report the names of their tenants to the tax authorities, who would then have to use their earnings to determine who was taxed and who was not. “It is unacceptable that the traffic light first distributes help with the watering can to everyone and then the tax authorities of the federal states should ensure a little more accuracy through the tax pro forma,” Füracker complained.
In the opinion of the Union countries, the mediation committee should also deal with the question of whether the federal government should be provided with account numbers for citizens and then be able to verify them without further consent. This is an encroachment on the constitutionally protected freedom of self-determination of citizens.