The month of September brought in Germany the end of the fuel tax cut and monthly pass to nine euros, but it also came with a 300 euros bonus in wages, subject to taxes.
As temperatures begin to drop, Germans are increasingly concerned about a lack of gas in Europe’s largest economy and rising energy prices. The changes will start to be noticed from the beginning of the month, with the government guaranteeing that it will do everything it can to help the population.
For three months, Germans were allowed to travel through the country by public transport for nine euros.. The discount expired on September 1, and Berlin wanted to introduce a version of this monthly pass as early as October. The measure is causing controversy in the other federal states.
In total, some 52 million passes were sold in June, July and August and there have been several protests demanding the return of the measure. On Monday, a petition with 450,000 signatures to that effect was delivered, addressed to Treasury Secretary Christian Lindner.
The discount on the energy tax on fuels, which had been in force for three months, was also canceled. Petrol and diesel prices rose on the first day of September, with a liter of more than two euros at various stations.
These two measures acted as a ‘buffer’ for the rise in inflation, which reached 7.9 percent in May, declined in the following two months and fell to 7.5 percent in July.
However, the Federal Statistical Office announced on Wednesday that annual inflation in Germany rose again in August to 7.9 percent, the highest level in nearly half a century.
To relieve the consumer, the government has decided to add to the payroll of all employees, even those who work part-time, an incentive of 300 euros subject to tax. It is not yet clear how long the transfers will take.
In a press conference, Christian Lindner emphasized that it will take at least 18 months to collect all the data, adding that 100,000 transfers from government direct to citizens per day are currently possible.
However, the finance minister assured that “technically feasible ways will be found”.
This week, Russian oil company Gazprom again interrupted the supply of gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, due to the need for maintenance, jeopardizing the recent decline in gas and electricity prices.
Source: DN
