Spectrum: Promote climate-friendly behavior. That is one of the goals that the current federal government has set itself. In order to achieve this goal, Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) has now pushed for a climate bonus for the purchase of bicycles.
Big bonus on income tax
Bonuses as incentives for certain behavior are old hat in politics. Let's remember the 2009 scrapping bonus to support the German automotive industry in the midst of the financial crisis. A new plan by Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) now provides for a “climate bonus”.
“We must support climate-friendly behaviour. […] I specifically propose a tax climate bonus that works in a similar way to the craftsman bonus,” said Scheuer in an interview with the newspaper Welt. Unlike the scrapping bonus, however, this climate bonus is to be paid directly in the form of a deduction from income tax. That would be unbureaucratic and therefore particularly attractive for many people.
Families benefit from a higher child allowance
In detail, the plan provides that 20 percent of the expenses for buying a bicycle or e-bike can be deducted from income tax. The upper limit for deductibility should be 1.000 euros, which would correspond to an e-bike value of 5.000 euros, for example.
It is also planned that other climate-friendly behaviors should also be able to be settled via such a climate bonus. In addition, families should also be given more consideration as part of the climate bonus. For this, the Federal Transport Minister is arguing that the child allowance should be increased by 500 euros.
In addition, Andreas Scheuer is calling on Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) to open the way for an attractive job ticket that would allow the employer to bear the full cost. According to Scheuer, the aim is for many people in Germany's metropolises to switch from cars to local transport or bicycles.
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