US EditionBerlin Reneges on Promise to Cut Record-High Electricity Tax
GERMANY, JUL 2 – The government limits electricity tax cuts to industry only due to budget constraints, delaying relief for households and small businesses with an estimated cost of €5.4 billion in 2026.
- The German government has decided to delay planned reductions in electricity taxes benefiting private residences and small enterprises, citing financial limitations for 2025.
- The delay follows a failure among coalition partners to find financing for tax relief that was promised in their agreement to reduce energy costs for all.
- Following a week of debate, the government decided to keep tax relief measures focused on industry, while planning to lower electricity transmission charges and eliminate the gas storage charge by 2026 to ease costs for consumers.
- The estimated cost of extending the tax cuts beyond industry is €5.4 billion in 2026, and Michaela Engelmeier called the cancellation a "fatal signal" needing "tangible relief."
- Postponing household relief implies electricity bills will remain high, signaling a major early setback amid fiscal pressures from reduced tax revenue and high spending.
25 Articles
25 Articles
Already after a short time in office the new German coalition annoys citizens with a turnaround and thereby loses confidence
The Federal Government continues to be under massive pressure in the electricity tax debate. Because the promised estate is now only to come for some companies, associations react annoyed. They feel deceived.
Eight weeks after the start of the government, the dispute over the electricity tax is becoming a test for the new federal government.
The electricity tax reduction planned in the coalition agreement for private individuals is on ice. Chancellor Friedrich Merz justified this with lack of funds.
In Germany, we are discussing how the coalition deals with electoral promises – currently with regard to the reduction of electricity taxes. World author Stefan Aust analyses the situation. What is the chancellor's course to assess? And what about the SPD proposal as an AfD ban?
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