Daily Finland
German lawmakers on Friday approved a tax cut on diesel and petrol fuel amounting to about 17 cents per litre at current prices, as part of measures to ease the burden on consumers of higher costs due to the Iran war, reported dpa. The legislation will take effect from the start of May and last until the end of June, after the upper house also gave the green light shortly afterwards. Fuel prices rose sharply after the start of the Iran war at the end of February and, despite a slight dip, are still well above their levels before the outbreak of fighting. The measure is expected to cost the state about €1.6 billion. The leaders of the coalition government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz agreed the temporary tax cuts for motorists in mid-April. A first package of measures to cut prices restricted petrol stations to one price rise per day at midday and gave the cartel office greater powers. However, these measures have had no major effect on prices. Conservative lawmaker Matthias Hiller from Merz's Christian Democrats said in the Bundestag that the coalition was responding quickly and with pinpoint accuracy to the oil price rise. Far-right politician Kay Gottschalk from the Alternative for Germany party, however, called the fuel rebate "a drop in the ocean." He pointed out that it would end ahead of the summer holiday season. Oil prices had risen sharply because of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz off the Iranian cost, which is crucial for the global oil trade. The Bundestag also paved the way for a tax-free relief bonus of up to €1,000, which employers can pay to employees. The upper house is due to discuss this piece of legislation on May 8.
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