The Left party (Die Linke) has filed an application with the Bundestag calling on the federal government to draft a new law that would impose an “excess‑profit tax” on mineral‑oil companies and introduce a cap on fuel prices. The revenues from the tax and the price cap would be earmarked for a revival of the 9‑Euro ticket and for a one‑time energy‑crisis payment to every citizen. The proposal was reported by the German weekly “Der Spiegel” on Tuesday.
In the draft, the party argues that it is unacceptable for energy conglomerates to earn huge profits from the war in Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis, while ordinary people and many industries bear the cost. Christian Görke, chair of the Finance Committee’s Left caucus, and his colleague Ines Schwerdtner developed the initiative. They model the excess‑profit tax on the rules that were in place at the peak of the 2022 oil‑price surge, but they intend the tax to be steeper. Where last year a 20‑per‑cent premium over the average profit of 2024 and 2025 would trigger the tax, the new proposal would do so at only 15 percent. Instead of confiscating 33 percent of the excess profit, as in the old 2022 law, the new scheme would take 50 percent.
The Left estimates that the tax would raise more money than the €2.5 billion it brought in during 2022. That extra revenue, they say, should be used to promote “social and sustainable mobility options”. They already have a concrete agenda: they want to reinstate the 9‑Euro ticket and introduce a “zero‑Euro ticket” for students, apprentices, seniors and other groups who would travel for free on buses and trains. The proceeds from the excess‑profit tax would also supplement the regional funding of the states that the 9‑Euro ticket originally helped finance, a measure the Left claims was a major relief for low‑income citizens in 2022.
In addition, the party is pushing for the government, which has been paying a direct stimulus of €300 to each citizen since 2022, to switch to a single one‑time energy‑crisis payment of €300 per person. The proposal includes a progressive tax element: the energy‑crisis payment would be subject to income tax, so that those with lower incomes would pay little or nothing, while high earners would contribute more.
Finally, the Left calls for an interim EU‑level fuel‑price cap. They do not specify the exact price thresholds for diesel, gasoline or heating oil, but state that the goal is to break the inflationary dynamics caused by a runaway rise in fuel costs. According to the Left, even a world‑market crude price of $80 per barrel could trigger a “severe inflationary spike”.
The Left’s package seeks to curb the profits of oil companies, restore affordable public transport, give citizens a direct financial lift, and curb runaway fuel prices that, in their view, contribute to a broader inflation problem.