Ahead of a meeting between Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) and business organizations and trade unions, Saarland Minister President Anke Rehlinger (SPD) advocated for state price caps on gasoline and a reduction in value-added tax. Speaking to “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” (Friday edition), Rehlinger stated that the federal government needs to “introduce concrete further measures” in response to rising prices at gas stations and in supermarkets. The Minister President, who is also a deputy chairwoman of the SPD, argued that “Germany should set state price limits for fuel, similar to Luxembourg. We should recoup the immoral crisis profits of large corporations through a windfall tax and use this to finance relief for the people in the country”. Furthermore, she suggested that making groceries more affordable could be achieved by specifically lowering the value-added tax. Since Federal Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche (CDU) has not yet shown willingness to take further steps, it was good that Klingbeil arranged an invitation for employers and trade unions. Separately, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Minister President Manuela Schwesig (SPD) called for the federal government to act more decisively given the economic fallout from the Iran crisis. She told newspapers that “the entire government must switch into crisis mode” and stressed the necessity of regular exchanges among the ministers for energy, interior affairs, and the state premiers. An energy price summit is scheduled for Friday.
Economy / Finance
