Due to the sharply rising gasoline prices that have begun with the onset of the Iran war, Bremen’s government minister, Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD), is calling for a super‑profit tax on the petroleum companies that raised gasoline and diesel prices almost immediately after the conflict began. He argues that these firms have disproportionately increased their margins at the expense of motorists.
Bovenschulte told “Die Welt”: “When you see how quickly oil companies hiked prices, it raises the suspicion that they are exploiting the war to fatten their pockets”. “What we need now is a fuel‑price brake. Not at the cost of taxpayers, but by holding those who profit from the crisis to account with antitrust and tax tools. A super‑profit tax could serve that purpose very well”.
The Bremen mayor intends to raise the issue again this Thursday, when the 16 German state leaders will meet in Berlin.