BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – DGB boss Reiner Hoffmann has brought up a speed limit in view of the high fuel prices. “We could temporarily introduce a speed limit of 100 on motorways and 30 in the cities to curb energy consumption,” Hoffmann told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Online Sunday/Print Monday). “It’s right to save every drop of gasoline we can.” But that still isn’t an answer to the structural problems, he added. “We have to create energy security, and that can be achieved above all by expanding renewable energies.”
Hoffmann spoke out in favor of targeted relief. “Those who already have plenty should not be served richly.” A fuel discount proposed by Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) is “wonderful for the mineral oil industry and SUV drivers, who could also pay three euros for a liter of fuel. It just doesn’t help those who have to drive to work every day by car.”
Specifically, the DGB is campaigning for a “mobility allowance” that could replace the commuter allowance. The lump sum has the disadvantage that low-income employees who pay little income tax are less relieved than high earners, despite the same distance to work, according to a position paper available to the German Press Agency. “That’s why we need a mobility allowance that is granted regardless of income and means of transport.”
Hoffmann also demanded heating cost subsidies that went well beyond what had been agreed, and a temporary reduction in VAT on gas and electricity. To finance this, the DGB chairman called for massive tax increases for the rich. “We need more justice in our tax system – regardless of whether it’s about inheritance tax, wealth tax, income tax or capital gains tax,” he told the Funke newspapers.
In addition, Hoffmann suggested a burden sharing like after the Second World War. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine creates a completely new situation in which there should be no ban on thinking. “Therefore, one should also think about a property levy as in the case of burden sharing.” In 1952, all assets over 5,000 Deutschmarks were subject to a 50 percent tax – staggered over 30 years, however.
The DGB boss also warned that energy prices are increasingly becoming a job hazard. “Particularly in the energy-intensive industries, there is a risk of job losses if action is not taken quickly,” he told the dpa. In the position paper, the DGB calls for a cap on industrial electricity prices to be at an internationally comparable level as a matter of urgency in order to be able to develop locations and employment in Germany./wn/DP/mis