The government wants to increase taxes and duties to plug the hole in the budget. But savings should also be made. Many details are unclear, for example when it comes to car buyers. And the farmer.
For four weeks, the leaders of the traffic light coalition fought with each other, session after session, over the 2024 budget. In the middle of the week, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) presented an agreement in front of the cameras of the capital’s press. Now it turns out that the compromise was only roughly made; many points remain open in the finer points.
“I would like to ask you to be patient in some areas,” said deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann on Friday. Although her request was aimed at journalists, it can also be applied to ministers. A prominent example is Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens), who has apparently been caught off guard by the coalition triumvirate. Savings should be made in the subsidy for agricultural diesel and in the tax exemption for agricultural and forestry vehicles.
Less money for the farmers
In total, there is a sum of around one billion euros per year that farmers are expected to lose. The farmers are therefore upset and want to vent their frustration at a demonstration in Berlin on Monday. But how exactly the cuts will be implemented legislatively is unclear. The energy tax and vehicle tax laws would have to be changed. However, neither the Ministry of Economic Affairs nor the Ministry of Finance could say whether both laws would have to be changed by the Bundestag or whether regulations from the ministries would suffice.
It is also unlikely that a final decision has been made as to when the changes should take effect. “We are in the process of specifying individual measures,” explained a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Finance. In any case, Özdemir doesn’t want to admit defeat and is trying to save part of the subsidies for the farmers. “I think that’s problematic,” said the Green Minister, criticizing the plan of the three traffic light bosses in his area of responsibility.
A letter from his State Secretary Silvia Bender, which was distributed by the CDU, raises doubts about whether Özdemir’s demonstrative surprise is real. It states that the House wants to approach the Ministry of Finance with proposals to change the agricultural diesel subsidy. “This letter from the State Secretary from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture proves that the ministry itself brought the cut in agricultural diesel into play,” criticized Union parliamentary group vice-president Steffen Bilger. Farmers’ trust in Özdemir is at its lowest point.
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There is also a need for clarification regarding another fuel. While the Ministry of Economic Affairs wants to introduce a tax on aviation fuel for domestic flights in Germany, the Ministry of Finance is eyeing another instrument to fill the state coffers. Accordingly, the reduction mechanism for ticket tax on flights should be eliminated. “We are in the process of working through the specific points,” said the Finance Ministry spokeswoman. The two departments did not want to say which variant is favored or whether both might be possible.
Habeck’s ministry remained similarly vague about the planned cancellation of the subsidy for the purchase of an electric car. “The environmental bonus will expire soon,” said a spokesman. This probably means the end of the year. Applications for the state bonus that have already been submitted should be processed by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control. He couldn’t say anything about the details. For example, what happens to drivers who have already ordered their electric model from a manufacturer, but it won’t be delivered until next year.
E-car buyers are taking a hard look
You bought the car believing you would receive a bonus from the government. The money would only have flowed after approval, but then there would still have been 3,000 euros. The funding program was originally not supposed to expire until the end of 2024. Car expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer expects that up to 200,000 fewer electric cars will be sold in this country next year due to the abolition of the subsidy. Last year, almost half a million cars with electric motors were added to Germany.
There should also be cuts in subsidies for heating replacement. The planned speed bonus for heat pumps and climate-friendly gas boilers will not be 25 percent, but only 20 percent, as can be heard from the coalition. But nothing precise is known here either. To do this, the funding guidelines must first be written, for which the Ministry of Economic Affairs is responsible. “The funding will come in full,” announced Habeck’s spokesman. Once again he was unable to give a specific timetable. “I would ask you again for patience,” said deputy government spokeswoman Hoffmann – and smiled.
2023-12-16 00:49:28
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