“An early tax increase would have made gas and electricity more expensive for everyone,” says Ingbert Liebing, managing director of the VKU municipal utilities association. Getty Images / zvonko1959 / alexsl; Collage: Dominik Schmitt
According to the mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat, the VAT reduction for gas is not due to expire until the end of March.
The cut was originally only planned until the end of February in order to cushion energy prices after the Russian attack on Ukraine.
The Association of Municipal Companies (VKU) welcomes the decision and emphasizes the need for clarity.
The VAT cut on gas does not expire until the end of March – a month later than planned. This is the result of the mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat on the Growth Opportunities Act. Originally, the discount was supposed to expire at the end of February, as required by federal law.
The federal government decided to reduce taxes on gas and heat from 19 to seven percent in order to make heating costs more affordable in view of the increased energy prices following the Russian attack on Ukraine. According to current law, this measure should expire at the end of March.
A spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group said on Thursday that the Growth Opportunities Act originally stipulated that the reduced tax rate for gas and heat would expire on February 29th. “This measure has been removed. The reduced tax rate will therefore only expire at the end of March.†Michael Schrodi, financial policy spokesman for the SPD, emphasized the importance of this relief for consumers until the end of the heating season.
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The Association of Municipal Companies (VKU) welcomed the decision of the mediation committee. The general manager, Ingbert Liebing, said: “That is right and a good thing. Clarity was needed, the long hang-up has been resolved. An early tax increase would have made gas and electricity more expensive for everyone sooner. This would have been in complete contradiction to the debated aid for the economy.“
The amended Growth Opportunities Act still has to be passed by the Bundestag and Bundesrat. However, it is unclear whether the CDU will agree to the law. However, the VAT reduction under the current VAT law expires at the end of March.
AA/dpa