"Coalition Agreement Betrayal" Wüst slams Klingbeil over U-turn on broad electricity tax cut
Criticizes Klingbeil over Withdrawals of Electricity Tax Implementation
Head's up! This discussion gets a bit heated, so buckle up! In Finance Minister Klingbeil's budget plan, the supposed slash in electricity tax is only partially enacted. While industries heave a sigh of relief, crafts, trade, and personal consumers are left out in the cold. North Rhine-Westphalia Minister President Wüst throws shade at the SPD politician for potentially breaching the coalition agreement.
NRW Minister President Hendrik Wüst pulls no punches, blasting SPD Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil for neglecting a general reduction in electricity tax in his budget proposal. The CDU heavy-hitter warns Klingbeil about risking a coalition agreement breach. "The proposed reduction in electricity tax for everyone was a critical milestone on our journey towards enhancing competitiveness, economic relief, and a better location within Germany. Klingbeil's current approach now jeopardizes this central relief promise," Wüst told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
Political Rumble CDU stands firm on electricity tax cut promise "With his proposed federal budgets for 2025 and 2026, Klingbeil isn't just hurting small businesses, trade, and the entire service sector, but also millions of families across Germany," the CDU powerbroker claims. These overpriced electricity bills are taking a heavy toll on people's wallets. Wüst reminds us that the reduction in electricity tax was one of the most vital economic policy promises during the Bundestag election campaign and was explicitly agreed upon in the coalition agreement. "Given the public's high expectations for the new federal government, I can only caution Lars Klingbeil against causing a rift in the coalition at this crucial juncture."
Political Rumble Less than advertised Klingbeil: Energy prices to moderately fall from January ## Economist Grimm: "Make electrification more appealing"
Even economist Veronika Grimm takes issue with the federal government's focus on only trimming electricity tax for industries. "The electricity tax should - as agreed in the coalition agreement - be abolished entirely. This would benefit both companies and citizens, make electrification more attractive, and reduce bureaucracy," Grimm told the "Rheinische Post". As far as the climate is concerned, she notes, "Experts have long advocated against taxing electricity consumption but focusing on CO2 emissions instead."
Similarly, the German Social Association (SoVD) shares its concern. "It's a great pity that the Union and SPD are reneging on their promises from the coalition agreement," said SoVD chairman Michaela Engelmeier to Funke media group newspapers. "The decision to only lower energy costs for businesses and not for consumers sends an alarming message." Low-income individuals and retirees on fixed incomes are being hardest hit by these rising personal electricity costs, Engelmeier states. The association receives regular reports of people struggling to make ends meet after expenses for food, rent, and energy bills escalate due to the skyrocketing electricity prices. "In this situation, a reduction in electricity tax could have made a big difference," laments the SoVD chairwoman.
Source: ntv.de, mau
- Black-Red Coalition
- Coalition Agreement Negotiations
- Electricity Price
- Tax Cuts
- Budget Policy
- Hendrik Wüst
- Lars Klingbeil
Enrichment Data:The German coalition government may indeed have broken its promise about the electricity tax cut, as pointed out by Hendrik Wüst and the German Social Association. The coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU, and SPD garanteed a permanent relief for companies and consumers in Germany by reducing the electricity tax by at least five cents per kilowatt hour as an immediate measure, "for everyone," with no ambiguity[2].
However, the 2025/26 draft budget proposed by SPD finance minister Klingbeil only includes a reduction of electricity tax for companies in manufacturing and farms in agriculture and forestry, effectively maintaining a temporary measure from November 2023 but excluding consumers and small businesses entirely[2]. This means ordinary households and small businesses won't receive any relief from electricity tax, contradicting the original commitment.
The financial impact of this broken promise is substantial: the electricity tax currently adds over 40 euros per person annually, and families could have saved up to 200 euros per year from the promised reduction. Instead, those potential savings have vanished completely. This is especially disappointing given that Germany boasts some of the highest electricity prices in Europe, with taxes and levies accounting for around 32% of the retail electricity price[2].
In summary, the government opted not to implement the promised electricity tax cuts for consumers, potentially breaking the election pledge as highlighted by Hendrik Wüst and the German Social Association[2].
- The coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU, and SPD promised to reduce the electricity tax by at least five cents per kilowatt hour for both companies and consumers.
- The financial impact of the government's failure to implement the promised electricity tax cuts for consumers could mean potential savings of up to 200 euros per year for households, a significant loss considering Germany's high electricity prices.
