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Germany to Cut Fuel Taxes Amid Iran War Energy Shock
The package also lets employers pay a tax-free €1,000 bonus as officials seek faster relief for drivers and businesses.
- On Monday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a €1.6 billion relief package, cutting diesel and petrol taxes by about €0.17 per litre for two months to ease surging fuel costs for motorists and businesses.
- Fighting in Iran and Middle East hostilities blocked oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Merz to say, "The war in Iran is the root cause of the problems we also have in our own country."
- The coalition allows employers to pay a tax-free 'relief bonus' of €1,000 in 2026, while the government offsets the revenue shortfall through higher tobacco taxes and tightened antitrust rules.
- DIW president Marcel Fratzscher criticized the package as showing a "clear social imbalance," while Green Party chairwoman Franziska Brantner warned the discount functions as an "expensive gift to the oil companies."
- Economic institutes slashed Germany's 2026 growth forecast to 0.6 percent, and Merz cautioned that the state "cannot absorb all uncertainties," warning the economy faces a significant burden over an extended period.
143 Articles
143 Articles
The Merz government announced a package of immediate and medium-term measures to absorb the shock of the US-Israeli war with Iran, with the highlight being a two-month reduction in taxes on gasoline and diesel and the possibility of a tax-free bonus for employees.
The reduction of the energy tax should relieve people from the high fuel prices. How much this brings is open.
Chancellor Merz believes that the government is not under threat and that they will successfully implement the planned reforms.
Fuel taxation in Germany is becoming more flexible in the face of the oil surge. A temporary decrease of €0.17 per litre aims to relieve households and businesses, while Opep is reviewing its global demand for fuel in the...
Straubinger Tagblatt [Newsroom] Straubing (ots) - The relief for two months is right for all those who commute to work with the car. It also helps the companies whose employees are on the road in the car. (...) But it has a horse foot. The tank discount also benefits ... Continue reading here...Original content of: Straubinger Tagblatt, transmitted by news aktuell
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