During the debate over how to effectively lower fuel prices, SPD general secretary Tim Klüssendorf reinforced calls for a surplus‑profit tax. In an interview with the “Rheinische Post”, he warned that drivers are being ripped off at the pump and that oil companies were exploiting the Middle‑East turmoil to earn massive profits at the expense of the public. “We must put an end to this outrageous practice” he said, adding that a surplus‑profit tax on these disproportionate crisis gains is necessary. Klüssendorf urged that the European Union take joint action on the measure.
The government has already acted at the SPD’s urging, limiting gasoline price increases to once a day and requiring oil companies to disclose the reasons behind any price hike. “This delivers the urgently needed transparency” Klüssendorf noted, but stressed that more is required. He called for stronger antitrust enforcement to enable Germany to act more swiftly against such exploitation in the future.
SPD chairwoman and Minister of Labour Bärbel Bas, as well as SPD bloc leader Matthias Miersch, had also expressed support for a surplus‑profit tax.