Cancellation buttons on company websites are becoming mandatory
Deposit system is expanded
minimum wage and pension
The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs states in a press release that the increase in the minimum wage is to begin on July 1, 2022. According to this, the minimum wage is planned to rise to 10.45 euros at this point. From October 1st, as determined in the traffic light coalition, it should then amount to twelve euros. In addition, the mini-job pay limit is to be raised to 520 euros. “A poverty-proof minimum wage is a question of performance justice and respect for honest work. More than six million hard-working people will benefit from the increase, especially in East Germany and above all women. The increase will benefit in particular the people who have been in this country in the pandemic kept going,” explains Hubertus Heil, Federal Minister for Labor and Social Affairs.
But not only the minimum wage, but also the pension is to be increased on July 1, as reported by the German pension insurance. From then on, the approximately 21 million pensioners are to receive significantly higher pension amounts. In the west, salaries are expected to increase by 5.35 percent, while in the east they will even rise by 6.12 percent. The fact that the pension adjustment in the East is somewhat higher than in the West has to do with the pension adjustment in the two areas. According to the editorial network Germany (RND), this is the highest pension adjustment in decades.
Contract terminations are simplified
In addition, contract terminations are to be simplified from July 1, as reported by the consumer advice center. Accordingly, those who have concluded a contract online should also be able to cancel it online. The cancellation button should be mandatory on company websites. In addition, customers should immediately receive an electronic confirmation of receipt. It was not until March 1st that there was a change in terms of contract termination: the notice period was reduced from the previous three to just one month.
Deposit system and electrical goods
The deposit system is also changing. From July 1st, supermarkets and discounters will also be required to deposit a deposit on one-way plastic bottles and cans. Accordingly, a deposit of 25 cents is also charged for PET bottles with fruit juices or cans with alcoholic mixed drinks, for example. Although this regulation has been in effect since January 2022, retailers had a transitional period until July 1 to enforce it, as Deutsche Pfandsystem GmbH explains.
Also affecting supermarkets and discounters is the new rule that all dealers who regularly sell electronic devices and have a sales area of more than 800 square meters must accept them free of charge. That explains the consumer center. Until now, only shops with a sales area of more than 400 square meters for electronic devices had to take back old devices free of charge. The new regulation also applies to online trading. The minimum size of 400 or 800 square meters is measured here for storage and shipping areas.
Smoking becomes more expensive
Right from the start of the year, smokers had to be prepared for tobacco products to become more expensive. From July 1st this also applies to “Liquids”. “What consumers think of as a cigarette will also be taxed like a cigarette from January 1, 2022. E-cigarettes whose liquids contain nicotine also serve as an alternative product for cigarettes,” explains the Federal Ministry of Finance. For the first time, substances for e-cigarettes are now subject to tobacco tax. Liquids are initially to be taxed at EUR 0.02 per milligram of nicotine. From 2024, the tax rate will be increased to EUR 0.04 per milligram of nicotine.
E. Schmal/Redaktion finanzen.net
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