Wagenknecht for tax cuts
German fuel prices are at the top in the EU
May 1, 2024, 4:41 p.m
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Filling up in Germany is expensive. Drivers in this country have to pay the seventh highest fuel prices in the EU. BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht has an idea about which taxes the federal government would have to eliminate in order to get to “normal levels”.
German drivers leave a lot of money at the gas station, as can be seen in a European comparison. In a list from the European Commission, to which the editorial network Germany (RND) refers, the German average price on April 22nd was 1.91 euros per liter of gasoline and 1.71 euros per liter of diesel. This makes Germany the seventh most expensive country in Europe. Drivers in Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands pay even more. On average, a liter of taxed petrol costs 1.81 euros in the EU. On average, one liter of diesel costs 1.68 euros.
A different picture emerges when the state tax burden is taken into account. According to the EU Commission, the net sales price in Germany without taxes and duties would be just 85 cents per liter of gasoline and 86 cents per liter of diesel. In an EU-wide comparison, Germany would be in 16th place.
In addition to 19 percent VAT, consumers in Germany also pay an energy tax and the CO₂ tax, which was only raised on January 1, 2024, on a liter of gasoline. This is intended to help reduce CO₂ emissions in Germany by gradually making the burning of fossil fuels more expensive. The levy will therefore continue to rise in the coming years.
“The fuel prices are far too high in Germany,” said Bundestag member Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) to the RND. “Many states are providing relief for fuel prices, while the federal government is imposing taxes and thus driving up prices,” she criticized. Wagenknecht complained that the mechanism did not fit the times. “The federal government should reduce fuel taxes to the European standard and abolish the CO₂ price,” demanded the MP. A reduction in fuel prices could also serve as a growth engine, continued Wagenknecht. “The economy is missing the money that drivers leave at the pump.”