Facing sharply rising gasoline prices, the Federation of Taxpayers (BdSt) is urging the federal government to adjust how value‑added tax is applied to fuel. The organisation demands that VAT be calculated only on the net price of gasoline, excluding the CO₂ surcharge.
“Tax on top of tax is unacceptable” said BdSt president Reiner Holznagel at a recent interview with Bild. He called it a double taxation that the state must avoid and added, “Let’s start with gasoline, where the pressure is greatest”. Currently, the 19 % VAT is levied on both the gasoline price and the CO₂ fee. As a result, a litre of fuel costs roughly 2.5 cents more than it would if VAT were not applied to the CO₂ surcharge.
Holznagel argues that eliminating this double taxation is “necessary for the tax system and not a subsidy”. He believes it would be a quick and sensible way to relieve consumers from the high cost of gasoline.
