The fuel rebate was actually supposed to relieve citizens of the extremely increased fuel prices. But the rebate has not reached consumers. The oil companies simply do not pass it on at the pumps. This is primarily also due to the fact that this was not stipulated in the relevant law. With the fuel rebate, Habeck is actually only subsidising the oil companies, which are not passing on the tax advantage to their customers.
CDU and FDP put Habeck under pressure
CDU and FDP politicians are now calling on Habeck to take action against the oil companies. “The billion-euro fuel rebate is seeping away and the traffic light is watching. Ordering the oil multinationals to report is the least that Economics Minister Habeck can do,” Jens Spahn told Bild. Christian Dürr, parliamentary group leader of the FDP, said: “Minister Habeck must now exert pressure and, together with the Federal Cartel Office, ensure that the relief takes effect”. Transport Minister Volker Wissing of the FDP, however, ruled out changing the fuel rebate or even abolishing it. “You can’t go here and say we’ll change it in the short term,” Wissing said on Deutschlandfunk radio.
The fuel rebate came into effect on 1 June as part of the federal government’s relief package. Under this package, the energy tax on fuels is reduced by 29.55 cents per litre of petrol and 14.04 cents per litre of diesel for three months. When the fuel rebate came into effect, prices only fell for a short time and then rose again above the level before the fuel rebate.
Habeck threatens oil companies over fuel rebate
Meanwhile, Habeck is trying to threaten the oil companies with all kinds of measures. He is talking about higher taxation of excess profits, but without specifying how this is to be determined. Then he wants to have the Cartel Office investigate and, if necessary, tighten up cartel law, and he has even considered breaking up the oil companies.
Threatened measures all unenforceable
It is virtually impossible to tax the profits of the oil companies more heavily, because most of their headquarters are abroad. The Cartel Office has been investigating the oil companies for years and is still absolutely powerless. Breaking up the globally operating oil multinationals is simply wishful thinking. All measures that Habeck can probably not really implement. It is all about showing activism in order not to fall down the popularity scale. At the end of the day, the oil companies are grabbing the fuel rebate because the relevant law was badly made. But the responsible politicians want to distract from that.
Price: € 151.23
Jetzt auf Amazon kaufen
Price incl. VAT., Excl. Shipping
Price: € 35.99
Jetzt auf Amazon kaufen
Price incl. VAT., Excl. Shipping