In a study, the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) recommends creating a social package instead of the additional tax cut on gas. In this package, the one-off energy price lump sum of EUR 300 should be supplemented by a regular "Energy Price Lump Sum Plus" of EUR 80 per month for taxpayers with a net salary of no more than EUR 3,000 and EUR 40 per month for non-taxpayers.
The MCC would also like a so-called gas allowance of 100 euros per month to be paid to all households with gas heating. According to the MCC, the aid is to be paid out via the tax office, the pension fund and the child benefit fund. The MCC is particularly critical of the relief in that it is "neither tailored to particularly affected gas households nor to those in need" and that a poor family of four, for example, would still have additional costs of around 170 euros.
The study is based on the assumption that gas will cost 286 percent more from May 2022 to April 2022, heating oil 138 percent, district heating 118, diesel 57, premium petrol 34 and electricity 31 percent more. Although current measures would already ease the burden on citizens, they would not be enough. A further social package with flat-rate payments and an additional volume of almost 30 billion euros could reduce the additional costs, which according to the MCC amount to 264 euros for a family of four despite the measures, to 133 euros according to MCC calculations.
Source and further information: mcc-berlin.net
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