Status: 07/30/2022 09:05 a.m
Gas surcharge, excess profit tax, relief package – there are now many proposals for coping with the rising energy costs. The FDP politician Köhler now has another one: Those who receive Hartz IV and save on heating should benefit financially.
In view of the energy crisis, the FDP has proposed a bonus for Hartz IV recipients who save on heating costs. “For many people, the significantly increased prices are the most important incentive to save gas,” said the deputy chairman of the FDP parliamentary group, Lukas Koehler, the editorial network Germany.
“However, anyone who receives unemployment benefit II does not have this incentive, since the costs are usually fully borne by the job center,” continues Köhler. “In order to change that, I propose that the ALG-II recipients be financially involved in the saved heating costs in the future.”
Köhler: “Financial injection without additional costs”
Köhler’s suggestion: Anyone who uses less gas than in previous years will then be paid a large part of the heating costs saved as a result. “Thus, economical heating would not only make itself felt in terms of gas consumption, but also directly on the account of the ALG II recipients.”
Köhler spoke of a “financial injection without additional costs for the taxpayer”. The state would also benefit “if part of the money saved remained in its coffers”.
Welfare association against gas surcharge
The Paritätischer Gesamtverband was meanwhile annoyed about the planned surcharge for natural gas and instead called for an excess profit tax for crisis winners. “It is unacceptable that crisis winners are now also exempt from any purchasing risk,” said the general manager of the welfare association, Ulrich Schneider, the editorial network Germany.
Added to this is the increase in the price of gas. “If at the same time gas suppliers like Wintershall Dea report a profit of 1.3 billion euros in the first half of 2022 and RWE even 5 to 5.5 billion euros, the federal government owes at least one explanation,” said Schneider.
Plea for excess profit tax
The planned gas levy is expected to be introduced for companies and private households in October. It is intended to benefit gas suppliers who have to buy replacement gas volumes from Russia at high prices. At Wintershall Dea, around half of the oil and gas production has so far come from Russia.
Schneider pleaded for an “excess profit tax for companies that have generated and continue to generate extraordinarily high earnings through war and crises”.
SPD leader Saskia Esken announced that her party would “make another attempt to introduce an excess profit tax for corporations that enrich themselves from the crisis.” She told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” that it was “unacceptable that energy companies are making profits from the crisis at a time when the state is stabilizing gas suppliers with a solidarity price allocation or even with taxpayers’ money”. That is rightly felt to be a great injustice.
Ramelow: The federal government pays too little attention to social balance
Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow called on the federal government to put together a new relief package for the citizens in view of the further increase in gas prices. “The traffic light government is currently hardly keeping an eye on social arithmetic. The main reason is the blockade of the FDP,” said the left-wing politician of the dpa news agency.
Among other things, Ramelow was reacting to the gas levy, which, according to Economics Minister Robert Habeck, will mean additional costs of several hundred euros per household for consumers every year. These could be in a range of 1.5 to five cents per kilowatt hour.
Ramelow criticizes the FDP
The traffic light coalition is discussing whether a new relief package is still necessary in 2022, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner had expressed his opposition. Ramelow called on the federal government to return the increased revenue resulting from VAT on high fuel and energy prices to citizens via a new aid package. “I regret that the traffic light government has not yet created any poverty-proof solutions.”
Ramelow spoke out in favor of setting income limits for future aid for citizens. “People on lower incomes must be protected.” Funding based on the watering can principle should not exist. “The FDP is in the process of destroying the social skills of the traffic light government at the federal level,” said Ramelow.