From April, the normal VAT rate of 19 percent will be due again for gas and district heating. In order to protect citizens from excessive energy bills, the tax was reduced to seven percent in 2022. The electricity and gas price brakes imposed for the same reason were abolished at the turn of the year.
Providers such as E.on have advised their customers that it would be advisable to read and report the meter reading at the end of March. This is the only way to ensure that the higher VAT is actually only charged for the gas purchased from April. So reading the gas meter should be the last thing you do in March. What else is changing:
Cannabis is becoming a bit legal
After a long discussion, the Federal Council cleared the way for the partial legalization of cannabis on March 22nd. From Easter Monday, adults aged 18 and over will be allowed to possess up to 25 grams of cannabis for personal consumption in public spaces. Three live cannabis plants should be allowed in your own apartment and up to 50 grams of cannabis for personal consumption.
Smoking weed should be banned, among other things, in schools, sports facilities and within sight of them – specifically within 100 meters of the entrance as the crow flies. The donation should be made via clubs or associations. These facilities also have maximum quantities for dispensing cannabis, plants or cuttings. Cannabis shops, such as those in the Netherlands, will not initially exist, but are planned in model regions for testing purposes.
Savings on parental allowance
For parental allowance, the limit up to which you are entitled drops to 200,000 euros in taxable annual income. This new upper limit will apply to couples and single parents in the future. Previously, the limits were 300,000 euros for couples and 250,000 euros for single parents.
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Parents whose children will be born from April 1, 2024 are affected. According to the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, the upper limit for births is to be reduced to 175,000 euros in annual income from April 2025. Depending on your income, the basic parental allowance is between 300 and 1,800 euros per month. The Parental Allowance Plus, which affects people working part-time, is between 150 and 900 euros.
The possibility of both parents receiving parental allowance at the same time is also restricted. In the future, parallel receipt of basic parental allowance will only be possible for a maximum of one month and only within the first twelve months of the child’s life.
According to Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens), the cuts only affect “highest earners”. Nevertheless, the budget for parental allowance, the ministry’s highest individual item, will fall by around 300 million euros to 7.99 billion euros in 2024.
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Qualification allowance for employees
Employees who are at risk of losing their job due to structural changes in the labor market and who could be kept employed through targeted training will be able to receive training money from April. According to the Federal Employment Agency, it is independent of the size of the company, age or previous qualifications.
The qualification allowance is 60 percent of the average net salary. If you have one child or more, the rate increases to 67 percent. Employers can apply for it from April 1, 2024. The prerequisite for funding is that the measure lasts more than 120 hours.
Germany ticket for students and trips home for trainees
With the start of the summer semester in April, students will receive the reduced Germany ticket for 29.40 euros per month. The normal price is 49.90 euros. The ticket cannot be applied for individually, but is paid in solidarity by all students as part of the tuition fees. The prerequisite for this is that the student committees (AStA) of the universities have concluded corresponding contracts with the transport associations. But this has not yet happened everywhere. The local AStA knows more.
Starting in April, trainees will be paid for two trips home per month by the Federal Employment Agency if the apprenticeship is so far away from home that normal commuting is not possible and their own apartment is necessary. This mobility subsidy is intended to be an incentive to start training away from your own place of residence.
Minimum wage increase for some professions
For painters and varnishers, the minimum wage will rise by 50 cents to 15 euros per hour in April. Unskilled workers in this area are entitled to a gross wage of at least 13 euros per hour. You also get 50 cents more.
The security guards at airports in Bavaria (except Munich Airport), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia who have passed the official examination to become an aviation security guard also receive more. From April they will receive at least 18.32 euros per hour – after 17.84 euros previously. All other employed security guards in the above-mentioned federal states will receive at least 16.95 euros from April.
Nationwide speed camera marathon
There will be increased lightning strikes in the week from April 15th to 21st. According to ADAC, April 19th is the main day on which the police want to remind drivers to stick to the speed limits. Speed checks should take place especially on accident-prone sections of the route and on roads with a particularly dangerous situation. “It starts in the early hours of the morning and the lightning continues well into the night,” says the traffic club. If it happens like in previous years, the exact measuring locations should be announced about a week before the campaign.
However, it is still unclear whether all federal states will take part in the 2024 speed camera marathon. Last year, Berlin, Bremen and Saarland did not take part. The reasons given were capacity bottlenecks or doubts about the usefulness of a concerted speed camera operation.
But it is clear that there will be another speed camera marathon in the summer, according to the ADAC. The week from August 5th to 11th is planned for this.
New questions in the driving test
From April onwards, 61 new or revised questions will apply to the theoretical driving license test. Around half concern the car driving license B. Important: Anyone who is currently preparing for the test should know the new questions.
The update takes place regularly twice a year in April and October. These are, for example, revised questions that have been reworded or for which there are additional answer options. Sometimes there are completely new questions.
New fuels at gas stations
In the future, drivers will also be able to fill up with diesel that is made 100 percent from waste materials such as chip fat. On March 22, the Federal Council approved a federal government regulation that paves the way for the introduction of biodiesel.
The so-called paraffinic diesel fuels are made from waste materials and vegetable oils and are now also approved as pure fuel. Until now they were only allowed to be mixed with conventional diesel. Since the CO₂ balance of biodiesel is better than that of conventional diesel, this should also make a contribution to climate protection.
It is questionable, however, to what extent the new fuel will be available in the future. According to the Federal Environment Ministry, used cooking oils – for example from the catering trade – are already used entirely as an admixture in transport.
New comparison portal for checking accounts
In the future, BaFin will operate a free comparison website for checking accounts. The federal government promises that this will create more transparency for consumers so that the conditions for the so-called payment accounts can be better compared. This is an example of collective consumer protection.
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The site will be launched on April 2nd – but only for testing purposes. The banks do not have to report their account conditions until September 2024. So there will be no comparison beforehand.
New return rules at Amazon
From April 25, Amazon will shorten the period for returning goods from 30 days to the legal minimum of 14 days – but only for certain products, such as cameras, computers or video games. This only applies to returns if you are not satisfied. The two-year warranty period still applies in the event of damage.
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Airbnb bans cameras inside properties
The holiday rental agency Airbnb wants to ban security cameras from the interior of accommodations offered on the platform. According to the company, the new regulation will apply worldwide from April 30 and is intended to protect privacy.
Outdoor cameras remain permitted for security and to ensure that no unauthorized persons enter the apartments. But here too, the rules are being tightened: landlords must disclose exactly where such outdoor cameras are installed. The cameras must also not be aimed at areas such as outdoor showers or saunas.