Status: 03/17/2022 10:21 a.m
“Completely out of date”, “money thrown away”: economists sometimes criticize the tank discount advocated by Finance Minister Lindner. Economic experts have other suggestions as to how citizens can be relieved.
Leading economists have criticized the fuel subsidy planned by Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner to relieve motorists of high fuel prices. “Relief shouldn’t come with a watering can, but in a targeted manner. That’s why I think that the tank discount is not the right instrument,” Clemens Fuest, President of the Munich Ifo Institute, told the “Rheinische Post”.
Veronika Grimm, a member of the Federal Government’s Economic Expert Council, also emphasized: “The discussion about tank discounts is completely out of date. We have to relieve lower and middle incomes. Tank discounts, however, relieve high earners more, because they own more cars and drive longer distances .”
Tank discount could make climate protection more difficult
“In high-income households, the proportion of expenditure on petrol is particularly high, so the reduction in petrol prices tends to be a redistribution from bottom to top,” explained ifo head Fuest. The federal government has already decided on targeted aid, such as aid for long-distance commuters or heating cost subsidies.
“Economy” Grimm also criticized that tank discounts made fossil fuels cheaper. “This thwarts climate protection and massively intensifies the challenges in the event of a possible supply stop of Russian gas. We need the dampening effect of high prices on demand so that we don’t face even greater challenges than we already do in the event of a shortage of fossil fuels.”
Relief must be targeted, according to Grimm. “It would be conceivable to have energy money that the recipient would have to declare as income. Then it would be repaid to a larger extent by those receiving high incomes. Energy efficiency programs could also help.” The Greens, among others, are campaigning for energy money.
“A Crazy Idea”
Jens Südekum, a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at the Economics Ministry and professor at Düsseldorf’s Heinrich Heine University, made a similar statement: Lindner’s proposal was “completely wrong” and “money thrown out the window”.
“The fuel price cap also relieves the fuel bill of very rich SUV drivers,” says Südekum. The motto must now be to save energy. “For that, people have to leave their cars wherever possible. High petrol prices ensure exactly that.” If you are dependent on a car, the state can help you selectively, be it through the basic income tax allowance or, even better, through a flat-rate energy allowance.
The environmental economist Felix Matthes from the Öko-Institut called the tank discount “one of the most absurd ideas of the last 20 years”. “The problem is not solved by everyone who has a high fuel bill getting a big discount. That is not targeted. And it will be extremely expensive,” he told the “Spiegel”. A tank discount is “a crazy idea” in terms of incentives, distribution and public budgets.
Lindner defends his proposal
FDP boss Lindner brought the temporary state tank subsidy into play at the weekend. He himself thinks a tank discount is right because it can be implemented more quickly than a tax cut. The funds could be provided from the budget. A reduction of ten cents per liter of diesel and petrol would cost the state 550 million euros per month.
“If I have my way, it will have to be more than ten cents and more than a month,” says Lindner. The billing would run through the gas station operators or the mineral oil companies. The help would be temporary, but would come quickly and without much bureaucracy. Lindner emphasized that it was only a proposal and not yet a government decision.
Criticism also came recently from the petrol station association ZTG and from consumer advocates. The proposal is also met with incomprehension in the ranks of the coalition partners SPD and Greens. Lindner was still optimistic: “At least I see many in the SPD who are in favor,” said Lindner in the ARD-Program “Maischberger. The week”. He is committed to this because such a step would help many commuters and other people.