Status: 08/27/2022 03:21 a.m
In view of rising energy prices, the discussion about relief continues: while SPD leader Klingbeil is in favor of an excess profit tax, the leader of the Landsberg Cities Association is calling for a new aid package for the needy.
The SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil advocates the introduction of an excess profit tax on crisis profits from large companies. “We can redistribute random profits from large companies to people with an income of 1,500, 2,000 or 3,000 euros. That is also a question of social cohesion in our society. Everyone has to do their part so that we can get through this challenging time well,” he said the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Pensioners and students should also benefit from further relief quickly. It is about structural changes in housing benefits and other one-off payments.
The coalition called on Klingbeil to work together: “The polyphony in politics has to end now,” said the SPD politician. “The traffic light will find pragmatic solutions for the citizens. We will succeed if we find our way back to the common spirit from the coalition negotiations.”
Head of the Association of Cities: Relieve low-income earners
The general manager of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities (DStGB), Gerd Landsberg, also called for targeted allowances for people with low incomes. “We cannot afford fuel discounts or an unchanged continuation of the extremely cheap nine-euro ticket,” he told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. The relief should therefore focus on people with low and middle incomes and “work simply and unbureaucratically”.
“The easiest way would certainly be a temporary allowance based on income limits and the number of children,” Landsberg suggested. Relief is necessary, but must be “targeted and also take into account that the state’s capacity is limited,” Landsberg pointed out. Politicians must therefore make it clear “that we will have to accept all the losses in prosperity and that the state is not in a position to compensate for every disadvantage”.
The relief package must therefore “be combined with a moratorium on new benefits and promises of benefits,” according to the DStGB’s demand. “We can’t pretend that the world hasn’t changed since February 24. That also applies to the traffic light. You should adapt your coalition agreement to take this into account. We simply can’t finance more government services for many,” said Landsberg .
Green boss promises quick help
Green party leader Ricarda Lang told the newspapers of the Funke media group that the federal government’s third relief package would “come soon”. Many people were already worried about how to pay their bills this fall and winter, Lang said.
Ver.di boss wants another one-off payment
Ver.di boss Frank Werneke called for a new energy allowance of 500 euros for employees. A third relief package is urgently needed, Werneke told the “Rheinische Post”. The energy flat rate should also be paid to pensioners, students and recipients of social benefits, according to the head of the service union.
The lump sum should be taxable, so that the highest net reaches the people with the lowest incomes, said Werneke. An energy price cap should then take effect from next year, said the union boss. For gas and electricity, a basic requirement should be billed at the price level of 2021 through state subsidies. As a benchmark, the union sees an annual consumption of 11,000 kilowatt hours for gas and 3,000 kWh for electricity for a family of three.