The CDU is making a front against the gas surcharge for consumers to support gas importers and wants to overturn it through the Bundestag. “This gas surcharge should be abolished,” said CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja on Wednesday in Berlin after consultations with the Presidium and the Federal Executive Board.
The Union faction will apply in the next week of the Bundestag to withdraw it. The Bundestag can decide this according to the Energy Security Act.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck defended the levy. The Green politician made it clear on Wednesday that it serves to ensure security of supply. “It is undisputed that this is a painful operation, with unreasonable demands.”
The socio-political “imbalances” would have to be compensated for by other measures. Those who cannot afford the high energy costs and the levy must be financially supported in such a way that energy does not push them into poverty.
CDU General Secretary Czaja said: “We consider the gas surcharge to be extremely poorly made, it is also antisocial and it does not reach the right companies that you want to relieve with it.”
The CDU agrees that the Uniper Group must be supported. “But now 3.5 billion euros from the gas levy are to go to companies that made high profits almost consistently in the first half of the year.”
In addition, debits and credits did not coincide. The charge will come on October 1 of this year. On the other hand, it is unclear when the relief will come, for example in the case of housing benefit or “cold progression”.
Union parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn (CDU) spoke in the “Spiegel” of a “chaos levy” and “redistribution from bottom to top”, his parliamentary colleague Thomas Heilmann of a “wrong way”. Heilmann advised the traffic light coalition: “Put it together, make it new.”
In order to support gas importers, customers will have to pay a state levy of 2.419 cents per kilowatt hour from autumn. This will lead to significantly higher energy costs for them. To relieve the burden, the federal government wants to reduce the VAT rate on natural gas from the current 19 to 7 percent for a limited period of time.
Regarding the criticism that companies that are doing well financially could also benefit from the levy, a government spokesman said that this was a small proportion of the companies that had made claims. It was about quick measures to ensure security of supply.
Some companies have declared that they will not claim the levy. It would be nice if other companies did the same. The spokesman said the government is convinced of the legality of the levy.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) called for deadweight effects to be avoided as far as possible. He “assumes that the Secretary of Energy will give some thought to how to deal with this potential deadweight problem,” he told The Pioneer portal.
The CDU politician Heilmann also called the levy “unconstitutional and contrary to European law”. There will be numerous lawsuits against it. The procedure is also wrong from a regulatory and socio-political point of view.
“The gas surcharge de facto subsidizes those businesses that are highly profitable.” The reduction in VAT leads to an “unfair distribution effect”.
Although there must be a relief for the citizens, said Heilmann. A direct energy money, for example, would be better. The companies should be supported according to the Lufthansa model. The state had helped the airline in the Corona crisis with silent deposits, a state-backed loan and a direct stake.
