Economist Lars Feld has stated that an increase in the commuter allowance is advisable. Feld told the “Rheinische Post” (Friday edition) that, from an economic standpoint, this can be justified using the net principle and will not interfere with price formation. He suggests raising the commuter allowance to 45 cents per kilometer. A former head of the Economic Panel, Feld views this measure as a fast way to provide relief, noting that citizens could sense the savings within the current year if they had this adjustment recorded on their wage tax card. According to Feld, increasing the allowance by one cent per kilometer would save employees approximately 230 million euros. This would result in total government revenue losses of roughly 1.6 billion euros.
While Economy Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) supports raising the commuter allowance, Feld opposes a fuel price cap, as demanded by the SPD. He argued that a price cap and a fuel discount distort the prices that send the message to people that oil and gasoline are becoming scarcer. He believes that price signals must be allowed to work so that demand decreases and adjusts to the falling supply. Furthermore, he pointed out that price caps and gas discounts have the disadvantage of applying universally, which leads to costly pass-through effects.
The Freiburg-based economist served as a member of the Council of Experts for Assessing the Overall Economic Development in Germany (“Wirtschaftsweise”) from 2011 to 2021. He also advised Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP).