Looking at the fuel discount that is ending at the end of the year, Crafts President Jörg Dittrich has called on the federal government to sustainably adjust its taxes and levies on gasoline. The president of the Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks (ZDH) told the Funke media group that the state could permanently forgo generating unjustified additional revenue. The state is accused by the ZDH of oil companies making high profits, but the president did not mention how high its own profits are from the collected taxes. Correspondingly, Dittrich is also bothered by the term fuel discount: it is not a discount, but rather the state passes on its significant additional revenue at this point. However, for the craft industry, the high gasoline prices are only the tip of the iceberg. High energy costs are a major problem. According to Dittrich, when talking about thermal insulation or bitumen road products, they are talking about price increases of up to 70 percent. This cannot simply be passed on; eventually, customers will stop accepting it because they feel they are being cheated. Furthermore, the money often does not end up with the craftsman. “In any case, I do not know any craftsmen who have opened a second account because the first one is full.”
Mixed
