The federal government wants to cushion the consequences of the energy crisis with relief packages worth billions. But according to economic experts, the aid is not distributed fairly. They see deficits above all in the gas price brake and in the support of medium-sized companies.
The wealthy benefit particularly strongly from the federal government’s relief packages. The German Economic Institute (IW) points this out in a new analysis. One example is the planned gas price brake: “Anyone who can afford a large apartment and uses more energy will also be relieved more,” it said. “Politicians are right to take money in view of the severity of the energy price crisis. However, the watering can method dominates too much,” criticized IW tax economist Tobias Hentze.
The measures that have been decided so far will save a single person with an annual gross income of 25,000 euros by 1510 euros, but a high earner with an income of 75,000 euros by 2689 euros. In families, the effect is even stronger. Overall, the IW puts the volume of the measures at around 200 billion euros.
The largest item is the gas price brake, for which there are only proposals from an expert commission, with 96 billion euros. The tax cuts to compensate for the cold progression followed in second place with 17 billion euros.
The IW sees deficits in the aid for companies. “Small and medium-sized companies in particular are threatened, and energy-intensive companies such as bakeries and paper processing companies are already fearing for their existence,” the institute warned. “The government should defer tax payments across the board,” recommended Hentze. In addition, advance payments should be reimbursed in order to quickly improve liquidity in companies.
