Background information

Due to the inflation resulting from the sanctions against Russia due to the war in Ukraine, the federal government has issued a total of three relief packages during 2022. The first two relief packages stem from the first half of 2022. The last relief package (adopted by the federal government in September 2022 and by the German parliament in December 2022) is the biggest one in terms of financial aid. However, all three packages are worth €95 billion. In addition, the federal government created a fund worth €200 billion to cushion the rising energy prices. In this context, the federal government issued many energy-related measures. Amongst other things, it lowered the tax payable on gas consumption and other levies related to energy consumption.

Content of measure

Against the background of rising energy prices, the federal government has lowered certain taxes and levies related to energy consumption. This includes:

• the VAT rate on gas supplies (including district heating) was lowered from 19% to 7%
• the rise of CO2 price for heating oil, natural gas and petrol, scheduled for the beginning of 2023, was postponed to 2024. The CO2 price per one tone was meant to rise from €30 (in 2022) to €35 (in 2023)

These measures are meant to fight inflation directly. They are of a temporary nature and currently have a running time from October 2022 to the end of March 2024.

Use of measure

No data yet.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Applies to all businesses	Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Company / Companies	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Direct consultation outside a formal body	Direct consultation outside a formal body

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level

Involvement

Social partners were presented their comments and position papers for the parliamentary hearing on the legislative changes needed for this measure.

Views and reactions

In a joint statement German employers (represented by the organisations BDA, BDI, ZDH, DIHK, HDE BGA) have welcomed the VAT reduction for gas supply but also called for more far-reaching measures to relieve gas consumers. The German Tax Union (DSTG) also called for a broader approach to relieve citizens and most of all low-income households.

Sources

• 06 September 2022: Employers' joint statement on gas VAT deduction and other measures (www.bundestag.de)
• 26 September 2022: German Tax Union on Gas VAT deduction (www.bundestag.de)