“Socially unfair and wrong”
Traffic light bickers about commuter allowances
7/31/2022 2:06 am
The traffic light parties agree on one thing: The citizens of Germany must continue to be relieved. However, they see different ways to cushion rising inflation and gas prices. Above all, the commuter allowance is controversial.
SPD leader Saskia Esken has spoken out against the increase in the commuter allowance proposed by Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner. “Low income groups benefit little or not at all from such tax breaks, the high and highest earners the most, although they do not need our help,” Esken told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. “So that’s socially unfair and wrong.”
The commuter allowance has already been significantly expanded, she added. Of course, commuters – whether they drive a car or take the train – need support. But there are “better tools like the mobility bonus that we should develop further,” said Esken.
In view of the sharp rise in energy prices, Lindner had spoken out in favor of a general increase in the commuter allowance to relieve the burden on citizens. According to Lindner, this should apply from 2023 “from the first kilometer and not just for long-distance commuters”.
The opposition is also critical of the commuter allowance. Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow criticized the FDP’s proposals to increase the commuter allowance: “I benefit more from this than the bakery seller.” The Union, on the other hand, considers a discussion about an increase in the lump sum to be appropriate: “But you have to know that it doesn’t work immediately, but with a delay when you make the tax return,” said the first parliamentary director of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Thorsten Free.
As part of its relief packages, the traffic light coalition had already increased the commuter allowance by three to 38 cents per kilometer. This applied retrospectively to January 1st, however, only from the 21st kilometer and thus for people with a particularly long commute to work.