November 2000
Tank's A Lot
Hikes and taxes drive gas prices through the roof
Few issues have generated more heat in recent weeks than the price of gasoline (or petrol, depending on which side of the Atlantic you come from). The dramatic increase in fuel prices this summer led to mass protests and calls for government action. It also caused many drivers to think about how they can reduce their driving costs or to find alternative ways of getting around.
In Germany, the typical price for a liter of normal, lead-free gas (
bleifreies Benzin) is DM 2.05 (mid-October). Super Benzin, which has a higher octane count and which virtually all new cars require, costs around DM 2.10 per liter. Some five pfennigs a liter dearer are the environmentally friendlier, low-sulphur (
schwefelarm) fuels — for example, Super Plus at Aral and Optimax at Shell. Unlike in Britain, diesel is considerably cheaper than gas, at around DM 1.77 per liter. Diesel cars also tend to be more economical on fuel. However, as they are more expensive to purchase and are subject to a higher road tax (
Kfz-Steuer).
More than half of the consumer price of fossil fuels consists of government taxes: the oil tax (Mineralsteuer); the environmental tax (
Ökosteuer); and value added tax (
Mehrwertsteuer, MwSt.). There are two fuels, however, to which the first two taxes do not apply:
Biodiesel and natural gas.
Biodiesel, an ultra-low-emission
fuel typically made from rape seed, costs between DM 1.49 and 1.67 a liter. Some newer diesel cars can run on both Biodiesel and normal diesel. Currently, four gas stations (
Tankstellen) in Munich sell Biodiesel: Sprint, Situlistr. 36; Super Wash 2000, Allacherstr. 78; Taxi-München Tankstelle, Engelhardstr. 6 (also for private cars); and Gustav Eichele, Zehntfeldstr. 219. Even cheaper (DM 1.35 a liter) is natural gas, but very few cars are equipped to run on it, and there are only three stations in Munich that sell it: (Drachen-Propangas, Maria-Probst-Str. 45; Süd Treibstoff München, Verdistr. 124; Autohaus Forstenried, Filchnerstr. 86).
Although the two main reasons that gas prices rose so dramatically this year were the increase in the price of crude oil and the fall in the Euro against the dollar, most political protest was aimed at the government’s environmental tax. Introduced to help pay for Germany’s creaking pension scheme, this tax added seven Pfennigs a liter (including MwSt.) to the price of fuel from April 1, 1999, and then again from January 1, 2000. Further such increases are planned at the start of each of the next three years and, despite the protests, the government has shown no sign of withdrawing these rises.
Instead, it plans to offer extra help to commuters (
Pendler) from January 1, 2001. Currently, people who drive to work can deduct a kilometer rate from their taxable income. For car drivers, this comes to 70 Pfennigs for each kilometer of the distance between work and home. The rate for traveling by motorbike is currently 33 Pfennigs per kilometer; by moped 28 Pfennigs; and by bicycle 14 Pfennigs. Commuters who use public transport can deduct the costs of their tickets. From 2001, all commuters will be able to deduct a “distance rate” of 80 Pfennigs per kilometer, regardless of how they travel. Note, however, that all employees can automatically deduct
DM 2,000 a year for work-related expenses. Unless the new allowance brings you over this total, it will not reduce your tax burden.
A number of Web sites offer an overview of prices at gas stations. See, for example,
www.clever-tanken.de;
www.preiswert-tanken.de and
www.benzinpreis.de. <<<
