(Updated with details, exceptional tax on energy companies)
BERLIN, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Germany will spend an extra 65 billion euros to protect consumers and businesses from the effects of soaring inflation, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Sunday, two days after the suspension gas deliveries by Russia.
The three ruling coalition parties deliberated late into the night before announcing the new package of measures, including a windfall tax on energy companies and aid for electricity and public transport expenses .
“Russia is no longer a reliable energy partner,” Olaf Scholz told a news conference, adding that Germany had prepared early for the risk of cuts and would be in able to meet the heating demand during the winter.
But if supplies are deemed sufficient, the government must do more to protect consumers and businesses from rising costs, the Chancellor added.
Among the new measures announced is an exceptional tax on energy companies, the proceeds of which are estimated at at least ten billion euros (“a double-digit range in billions”) by Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
Part of the proceeds from this tax, one of the most controversial measures of the new anti-inflation system, will be used to finance 1.7 billion euros in tax benefits for 9,000 energy-intensive companies. (Thomas Escritt, Gilles Guillaume for the French version)