The gas surcharge is intended to benefit suppliers such as Uniper. However, it is still unclear whether the state will also benefit from this via VAT. Sample calculations show how much that would put additional strain on German households.
The gas allocation is a done deal. It is still unclear how expensive it will cost the citizens. However, the Federal Ministry of Economics has now taken a clear position in the dispute over the value added tax that could possibly be incurred. “It’s not communicable,” said people close to Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). But in the end, Habeck’s cabinet colleague Christian Lindner (FDP) has to decide and find a solution. His Treasury Department is responsible for taxing the levy.
With the gas surcharge, consumers are expected to shoulder the price risk of their energy suppliers from October, who have to buy replacement for the missing, cheaper gas volume from Russia at high costs. Currently, just under a fifth of the contractually agreed gas supply volume is delivered from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea pipeline “Nord Stream 1”. How high the additional burden will be for private households depends on the compensation claims of the gas importers. The Economics Minister recently named a range of 1.5 to 5 cents per kilowatt hour in which the gas levy is expected to move.
The comparison portal “Check24” and the Association of Taxpayers have calculated what this means for gas customers and how much VAT would make the levy even more expensive:
“We are already expecting additional costs of 1,000 to 2,000 euros this year for a model household with a consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours. And that’s still conservative, because gas prices are still rising sharply,” says Thomas Engelke, energy expert from the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv). Compared to the previous year’s prices of 1301 euros for the annual consumption of a model household, gas customers have to cope with an average price increase of 162 percent due to the Ukraine war. If there were to be an additional surcharge of five cents plus VAT on the current gas costs, a model household would pay an average of 4,605 euros from October, an increase of 254 percent compared to July 2021.
However, the Federal Association of Consumer Advice Centers warns that such figures should be used with caution: “You have to be careful with these calculations. Minister Habeck announced additional costs of 1.5 to five cents last week. That’s a wide range. Check24, for example, made a sample calculation from this, and you end up with 1190 euros, so this calculation is initially correct.”
From this it follows: Depending on the targeted percentage of the gas levy, consumers will face additional costs of 200 to 1000 euros, with VAT the price increase will be 240 to 1200 euros. However, Engelke points out that energy prices could well continue to rise: “As a consumer advice center, we expect additional costs for model households of 1,000 to 2,000 euros this year. However, depending on how much gas prices rise, this forecast will have to be revised upwards. In addition, the amount of the levy can be reset every three months.
Consumer advocates are therefore sounding the alarm: “If the federal government were to also levy VAT on the gas levy, that would be absurd from our point of view. The taxation simply runs counter to the idea of the gas surcharge. The insolvency of the gas importers is to be prevented by means of the surcharge, which is borne by the consumers. However, VAT has nothing to do with this, this is government revenue,” explains Engelke. “If VAT cannot be technically avoided, the federal government must introduce a repayment mechanism.” The government must work out exactly what this could look like.
Criticism has also been voiced by the opposition. “Solidarity must not also be taxed. The federal government must therefore immediately withdraw its plan to add 19 percent VAT to the gas levy,” said deputy CDU chairman Andreas Jung.
There is also resistance within the traffic light coalition against the possible taxation of the gas surcharge. “The levy must not be a basis for further tax revenue. That is why it is currently being examined whether the VAT can be applied to the levy, ”explained the energy policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Michael Kruse. If this is not technically feasible, there must be ways by which the additional government revenue together with further relief can be returned to consumers, the FDP politician said when asked.
Anyone who wants to take precautions in view of the possible taxation of the gas levy should start right now: “Anyone who has their own gas heating system, whether in an apartment or in a detached house, can now have the heating set so that it runs efficiently and economically in winter”. , says Engelke and advises lowering the flow temperature of the heating system in order to reduce energy consumption. “The room temperature can also be said, but this depends heavily on the individual heating level. “Anyone who comes from 23 degrees still has leeway to heat less.
There is also potential for savings in hot water that consumers can use: “If you heat your hot water with gas, you can lower the flow temperature from 60 to 40-45 degrees. However, the temperature has to be raised to 60 degrees from time to time to prevent legionella from forming.”
However, a political decision is even more important to the consumer advocate: “From our point of view, the levy will hopefully come without VAT. We expect the costs to continue to rise, which households with low incomes and those that are just above the limit for social or transfer payments cannot bear.” The consumer advocate sees the government as having an obligation to take countermeasures quickly: “Should households in If you can no longer pay for gas or electricity in winter, the suppliers could impose gas or electricity cuts, and we have been calling for a deferral for such cuts for a long time now.”
From his point of view, the task for the decision-makers in Berlin is clear: “Politicians must now think about how such a moratorium can be paid for.”
