To ease the burden on working people, especially those who are hardest hit by the recent sharp rise in fuel prices, the workers’ wings of the CDU and CSU have put forward a “Professional Mobility Package”. In a statement to the Tagesspiegel, Dennis Radtke, chair of the Christian‑Democratic Workers’ Union, and Volker Ullrich, head of the Christian‑Social Workers’ Union, outlined two key proposals.
First, they want to relieve employees who use their private cars for business travel and to introduce a tax‑free mobility allowance as a tariff instrument. They pointed out that the commuter allowance has already been increased, free of the Iran‑war context, to 38 cents per kilometre for the journey to and from work. “That logic should also apply to employees who travel for their employer’s sake in their own car” Radtke and Ullrich argued, noting that roughly 27 percent of business trips are made with a private vehicle. Yet, the current tax‑free reimbursement for such trips is only 30 cents per kilometre – a rate they see as unjust.
To raise the business‑trip rate to 38 cents, the pair suggest two possible routes: either amend the Federal Travel‑Cost Act, which governs income‑tax regulation, or embed a reference to the high commuter allowance within the Act. “If an employee employs his or her own vehicle for professional duties, they deserve a fair tax‑free reimbursement based on actual costs” they said.
In addition, they propose a further instrument-a tax‑free mobility allowance that can be granted through collective bargaining agreements. This allowance would be aimed at employees with high travel costs, administered in a streamlined, employer‑controlled way and designed to be as straightforward as the COVID‑era hardship payments. According to the two leaders, the measure would strengthen tariff autonomy, produce solutions that fit the reality of workplaces, and ensure that relief reaches those workers who bear the highest travel expenses.