Petrol money from the state: How the state can pay citizens money

The idea has been floating around in federal politics for years: all citizens could receive compensation from the state for high energy costs. Now, because of expensive gasoline, the proposal is back in vogue. Federal Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche (CDU) is in favor of this, as are the Greens, environmental associations and economists. If the government and the Bundestag decide on this quickly, it will probably take months before a few hundred euros arrive in private accounts.

Preparations have been progressing slowly since an FDP politician named Christian Lindner was finance minister in the traffic light government. At that time there was discussion about climate money, a socially oriented compensation for the rising carbon dioxide price of fossil fuels.

The SPD-led Finance Ministry says the technical process is now ready to start. The Federal Central Tax Office has the tax identification numbers of all citizens and can link their individual account numbers (IBAN) to them. However, these are usually well kept at the tax offices of the federal states. The Central Office currently only has a fifth of the IBANs.

“No problem,” says the Ministry of Finance. In any case, people know best which of their various account numbers is the most suitable. You should therefore please report your IBANs to the central office - for example with the help of your bank or using the Elster tax app. However, there is still no hotline that can answer questions or provide assistance. And the Bundestag has not yet passed a law for the payment. So next week there will definitely be no money flowing.

Mind you, the first thing is to ensure that everyone receives an identical amount of, for example, 250 euros. But Economics Minister Reiche would rather only transfer the petrol money to those who earn low incomes and therefore really need it. The Greens also propose a “socially staggered” payment. However, this makes things a little more complicated.

“This requires comprehensive information about the income situation of citizens, which is only available to the tax administrations of the federal states,” says Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil. How the information gets to the Central Tax Office is not yet clear. And another law is needed, which the Bundestag will not pass tomorrow either.

Meanwhile, Reiche reiterated her proposal for direct payments at the beginning of next year, when the mechanism would “hopefully” be operational by then. Subtext: The SPD colleague Finance Minister should hurry up. Of course, draft laws from the government factions are also not well known. The coalition's problem doesn't seem to be a big deal.