from NoTricksZone
Author: P. Gosselin
Germany’s CO2 tax will increase from the current 45 euros per ton to 55 euros in early 2025…
This will drive up heating and energy costs consumers and businesses.
Hat Tip: Blackout News
The huge increase means the CO2 tax has almost doubled in just two years. In 2023, the carbon tax will be €30 per ton.
But according to Blackout News, there's more to it than that. The carbon dioxide tax is levied by value-added tax, which is currently 19%.
Blackout News writes: “Households and businesses that rely on petrol, diesel, heating oil or natural gas are facing increasingly severe financial challenges. “Petrol will rise by 4.3 cents per liter and diesel by 4.7 cents per liter due to the CO2 tax.” Heating costs will also rise sharply. Natural gas will be 0.21 cents more expensive per kilowatt-hour, meaning a total increase of 1.21 cents per liter of heating oil compared to before the CO2 tax was introduced. A rise that affected many families.
The huge increase is certainly a bad sign for the current coalition government of the Social Democrats, Greens and FDP, which will face a no-confidence vote in parliament later this month. A vote of no confidence will result in the dissolution of Congress and the holding of new elections within 60 days of the vote.
Pain at the pump and higher utility bills will make the current coalition partners even more unpopular. But whether the new government under Friedrich Merz (CDU) will change anything remains highly doubtful. Only the opposition Alternative for Germany party is firmly opposed to a CO2 tax. Merz's Christian Democratic Union currently leads the polls.
65 euros per ton in 2026
The CO2 tax will rise to €65 per ton by 2026, making the energy cost gap between Germany and other countries potentially unsustainable. As energy prices soar, German citizens and businesses are increasingly dissatisfied. At the same time, the Trump administration has expressed a strong interest in making energy affordable again in the United States.
Who benefits from CO2 taxes? government.
According to Blackout News: “More than 18 billion euros flowed into state coffers, of which 10.7 billion euros came from national heating and transportation emissions trading. Revenues in this area increased by 67% compared with 2022. European emissions trading revenue also increased by 12%, reaching 7.7 billion euros.
Read the full article here (in German):
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