Source: Energy & Management Powernews, October 10, 2022
One week after the Bundestag agreed on October 7 also the Bundesrat the temporary reduction of the sales tax to 7% for gas and district heating supplies from October 1.
The Bundesrat agreed in its recent meeting to a whole bundle of energy laws. Thus, the value-added tax drops from 19% to 7% on gas and district heating purchases from October 1, 2022 to March 31, 2024. Companies are to pass on the reduction in full to consumers to relieve them of high energy costs. The law also exempts payments made by employers to their employees to compensate for high inflation up to an amount of 3,000 euros from tax and social security contributions.
In an accompanying resolution, the Bundesrat calls on the German government to create a model as soon as possible to limit the price increase for gas, electricity and heat for companies and households. It must include incentives to save energy, be socially just and practicably enforceable. The Bundesrat also suggested that the Gas Storage Act be further developed in a timely manner, that market-based incentives be provided there for cost-optimized gas storage, and that the scope of the required injection volumes be specified.
Lower VAT on electricity and electricity tax
Ingbert Liebing, chief executive of the VKU municipal utilities association, called in a reaction for VAT to be lowered to 7% on electricity purchases as well. In addition, the federal government should lower the electricity tax to the permissible European minimum. "This would also help companies in particular, which would not benefit from the VAT reduction," Liebing said. With lowered electricity tax, companies would pay only 0.5 euros/MWh instead of the current 20.50 euros/MWh, and households would pay 1 euro/MWh.
The Bundesrat also emphasized that the conversion to climate-friendly energy supply must be further promoted in all sectors. An impulse for the expansion of sector coupling could also be, in the view of the Bundesrat, the temporary reduction of the electricity tax to the European minimum.
Guarantee security of supply
In the further laws and ordinances confirmed by the Bundesrat, framework conditions for the use of biogas and photovoltaics as well as liquefied natural gas plants are improved. In addition, the aim is to accelerate the expansion of the electricity grid. The Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics, Michael Kellner (Greens), spoke of an important signal to ensure security of supply in Germany. In the foreground of the measures in the Energy Security Act would be facilitations for a fuel switch away from Russian natural gas.
The confirmed laws include amendments to the Energy Security Act, the Renewable Energy Sources Act, the Energy Industry Act, the Grid Expansion Acceleration Act Transmission Grid and the LNG Acceleration Act, as well as the Federal Immission Control Act, the Combined Heat and Power Act and the Building Code.
Author: Susanne Harmsen
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