The gas cap is an irresponsible grip on citizens’ taxes. It benefits corporations that earn a fortune. The whole thing is a bottomless pit. As long as the government does not really do everything to increase the energy supply, it should never dare to take such a step.
Are you then abandoned by all good spirits? The federal government is launching a €200 billion aid fund to relieve citizens and businesses of the increased energy costs. “Prices have to come down,” says Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz – and grabs all of us in the same breath like never before. Because the 200 billion do not fall from the sky, but come from our tax money. They are debts we all have to pay. The financing of this sum alone narrows the scope in the budget considerably when interest rates rise.
In truth, Scholz and his traffic light government are not in a donor mood, they are recipients. They take our money. Yes – they must alleviate distress. But anyone who spends unimaginable sums on energy subsidies must also prove that they are leaving no stone unturned in order to sustainably reduce energy prices. And not through tax money, which now gives energy suppliers a golden life, but through all conceivable measures that increase the energy supply. This is the only way to ensure that after the now estimated 200 billion, the next 400 billion will probably not be due and so on.
But that government has so far failed to come up with a comprehensive plan to increase supply. A few gas shopping trips by the chancellor and his economics minister are far from enough. A plan includes the return to nuclear power and, above all, research into its further development, the optimization of coal, the targeted search for one’s own gas deposits, whether through drilling or fracking, and of course the expansion of renewables. Such a plan also includes the withdrawal of the continuously rising CO-2 tax, with which the federal government is also screwing up energy prices itself.
The reform for the new property tax is complex – and this year it will require owners. You have to submit some data to the tax office. You have to be very precise and observe special deadlines. In our large guide you will find all the information you need to know in a compact form.
This government should have thought about all this and informed us before it grabbed our pockets like that. But she doesn’t. Instead, she speaks of “defensive shield” and “state of war”, all vocabulary that only hides the fact that work is not done properly here. Responsible politics and taking citizens seriously – that looks different.
