**From The Telegraph’s James Rothwell in Berlin:**
German farmers have accused Olaf Scholz of declaring “war” on their industry as they amassed in Berlin to protest against cuts to fuel subsidies and tax breaks.
Some 10,000 agricultural workers descended on the capital’s Brandenburg Gate on Monday with 3,000 tractors, bringing traffic to a standstill as they demanded an about-turn on plans by the German chancellor’s coalition administration.
Berlin says that ending farmers’ diesel subsidies and vehicle tax exemption are a necessary part of austerity measures aimed at resolving the country’s budget crisis in 2024.
But the German government is now facing a potentially major revolt from agricultural workers about the changes.
Some farmers carried placards to Monday’s demonstrations that claimed Mr Scholz had declared “war” on their industry.
“Too much is too much, it’s over now!” fumed another placard.
The German government has vowed to cut the subsidies and benefits to help fill a €17 billion (£14.6 billion) funding gap for 2024, the result of a shock ruling from the constitutional court in November that banned ministers from using pandemic-era funds in future budgets.
The total savings from ending the farmers’ benefits are estimated at €900 million (£774.6 million) per year.
Joachim Rukwied, the president of German farmers’ association DBV, has hinted that major, unprecedented protests will continue until the cost-saving measures are scrapped, in a significant challenge to Mr Scholz.
Try to introduce a vignette as an Autobahn tax instead.
^(And be confronted with a lynching mob of millions…)
At least in Munich, these tractor drivers had only conspiracy and far right messages on their vehicles.. I am very in favour of making their lives better so they shut the fuck up and stay out of politics. That goes for most Afd Nazis as well.
The tax refund on diesel is 21 cent/l or for Americans 84 cent /gal. For growing crop on an industrial level you are around 30 l/ha and year, increasing the cost by around 6 to maybe 8 euro /ha.
But when you do organic farming you are around 100 l/ha, because you use less chemicals and do more tilling / cultivation.
But fuel tax is less the problem
The problem is if you have to pay the vehicle tax for agricultural mashinery you pay a tax of 12.78 € for every 200 kg. A Fend 936 weighs 10.3 tons.
Also do you pay for every Trailer? Watertank? They normally don’t need to be registered at all. If they need to be registered to be taxed, they need technical supervision /TÜV
Roughly half of the small farms (like me) would be out of service because we are not allowed to get to our fields by using the roads until we have replaced half of our working vehicles..
The big industrial farm will be OK.. But all mom and pop / small farms or part time farming families can’t afford to pay that.
The estimated cost is 900 million € spread onto 265.000 farms. Excluded investments into new mashines.
War on industry?
Who declared war? What did I miss?
Meanwhile farmers made record breaking profits in 2023. 10% higher than the five-year-average.
‘War on industry’ my ass, idiotic crybabies.
why not on the german-polish border like their colleagues from poland do
Ooooh German farmers are crying….. they have best subsidies in EU and they need more…
Remember these guys. They will be blocking Polish border when Poland gets invaded.
They should’ve axed the Dienstwagenprivileg. Imagine the show of 10000 Porsches and similar!
Didn’t the protest happen yesterday?
The Green politician Cem Özdemir was also criticising the reduction of agri subventions, so the farmers proclaimed their thanjs for his support.
Ah no I’m joking, the farmers were of course racist as fuck to the one politician stupid enough to support them. This isn’t about subsidies, this is about right wing culture war.
To put tjis into place: the farmers in germany make record profit this year. Most of them are just happy to haze someone. Right now it is the government.
Haha, even a German strike looks organised.
Very orderly. Gut!
They should create a farmers party, like they did it in the Netherlands.
At least a war we are going to win!
Stay strong guys
We need to phase out diesel. I don’t know what the alternative is right now though
Guys gluing themselves to the steet to protest irreparable damage to the climate – dumb, blocking vital traffic, should be beaten with sticks
Guys blocking a city with gas guzzling farming equipment cause fewer subsidies – pretty fine, actually
Now realize that each of these machines has only 1 person in it and that it might look like a large group, but actually it’s maybe 200 people.
If you need big equipment to intimidate, apparently you don’t have sufficient people supporting your cause.
We’re not hearing anything about this in the news in USA
fucking idiots blocking the road. should be pepper sprayed like those climate protestors.
JWTSYD
Electric tractors still do not exists? Look like farmers have enough square for installing wind farms to charge tractors directly.
If Germany “fights war” with their industries, while giving them this much help, then Hungary is violating our rotten corpses.
Farmers, always playing the victims.
Factory farming is killing our planet; climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, soil degradation, water/soil/air pollution, water shortages, food shortages (80% of arable land is used for cattle and food for cattle and only provides 18% of our daily energy needs), eutrophication of our oceans (fertiliser), disrupted phosphate and nitrogen cycle (fertiliser) health issues from NCD’s (heart disease, diabetes and cancer), neurological diseases from pesticides, antibiotics resistance, zoonotic diseases potential and severe animal cruelty. Ditch factory farming, ditch meat and dairy.
Good.
They did this in Canada and got labelled terrorists. Will be interesting to see Germany’s reaction
There is no war on industry, everything is getting less.
Stop crying about it, everyone is poorer. That’s just the direction of Europe now.
Farmers are the most subsidised branches of business. How can they still complain? They eat up like literally half of the entire eu budget
Love that they left one lane open for emergency vehicles 🙂
33 comments
**From The Telegraph’s James Rothwell in Berlin:**
German farmers have accused Olaf Scholz of declaring “war” on their industry as they amassed in Berlin to protest against cuts to fuel subsidies and tax breaks.
Some 10,000 agricultural workers descended on the capital’s Brandenburg Gate on Monday with 3,000 tractors, bringing traffic to a standstill as they demanded an about-turn on plans by the German chancellor’s coalition administration.
Berlin says that ending farmers’ diesel subsidies and vehicle tax exemption are a necessary part of austerity measures aimed at resolving the country’s budget crisis in 2024.
But the German government is now facing a potentially major revolt from agricultural workers about the changes.
Some farmers carried placards to Monday’s demonstrations that claimed Mr Scholz had declared “war” on their industry.
“Too much is too much, it’s over now!” fumed another placard.
The German government has vowed to cut the subsidies and benefits to help fill a €17 billion (£14.6 billion) funding gap for 2024, the result of a shock ruling from the constitutional court in November that banned ministers from using pandemic-era funds in future budgets.
The total savings from ending the farmers’ benefits are estimated at €900 million (£774.6 million) per year.
Joachim Rukwied, the president of German farmers’ association DBV, has hinted that major, unprecedented protests will continue until the cost-saving measures are scrapped, in a significant challenge to Mr Scholz.
**Read more ⤵️**
[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/12/19/farmers-protest-fuel-subsidies-tax-breaks-cuts-in-berlin/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/12/19/farmers-protest-fuel-subsidies-tax-breaks-cuts-in-berlin/)
Try to introduce a vignette as an Autobahn tax instead.
^(And be confronted with a lynching mob of millions…)
At least in Munich, these tractor drivers had only conspiracy and far right messages on their vehicles.. I am very in favour of making their lives better so they shut the fuck up and stay out of politics. That goes for most Afd Nazis as well.
The tax refund on diesel is 21 cent/l or for Americans 84 cent /gal. For growing crop on an industrial level you are around 30 l/ha and year, increasing the cost by around 6 to maybe 8 euro /ha.
But when you do organic farming you are around 100 l/ha, because you use less chemicals and do more tilling / cultivation.
But fuel tax is less the problem
The problem is if you have to pay the vehicle tax for agricultural mashinery you pay a tax of 12.78 € for every 200 kg. A Fend 936 weighs 10.3 tons.
Also do you pay for every Trailer? Watertank? They normally don’t need to be registered at all. If they need to be registered to be taxed, they need technical supervision /TÜV
Roughly half of the small farms (like me) would be out of service because we are not allowed to get to our fields by using the roads until we have replaced half of our working vehicles..
The big industrial farm will be OK.. But all mom and pop / small farms or part time farming families can’t afford to pay that.
The estimated cost is 900 million € spread onto 265.000 farms. Excluded investments into new mashines.
War on industry?
Who declared war? What did I miss?
Meanwhile farmers made record breaking profits in 2023. 10% higher than the five-year-average.
‘War on industry’ my ass, idiotic crybabies.
why not on the german-polish border like their colleagues from poland do
Ooooh German farmers are crying….. they have best subsidies in EU and they need more…
Remember these guys. They will be blocking Polish border when Poland gets invaded.
They should’ve axed the Dienstwagenprivileg. Imagine the show of 10000 Porsches and similar!
Didn’t the protest happen yesterday?
The Green politician Cem Özdemir was also criticising the reduction of agri subventions, so the farmers proclaimed their thanjs for his support.
Ah no I’m joking, the farmers were of course racist as fuck to the one politician stupid enough to support them. This isn’t about subsidies, this is about right wing culture war.
To put tjis into place: the farmers in germany make record profit this year. Most of them are just happy to haze someone. Right now it is the government.
Haha, even a German strike looks organised.
Very orderly. Gut!
They should create a farmers party, like they did it in the Netherlands.
At least a war we are going to win!
Stay strong guys
We need to phase out diesel. I don’t know what the alternative is right now though
Guys gluing themselves to the steet to protest irreparable damage to the climate – dumb, blocking vital traffic, should be beaten with sticks
Guys blocking a city with gas guzzling farming equipment cause fewer subsidies – pretty fine, actually
Now realize that each of these machines has only 1 person in it and that it might look like a large group, but actually it’s maybe 200 people.
If you need big equipment to intimidate, apparently you don’t have sufficient people supporting your cause.
We’re not hearing anything about this in the news in USA
fucking idiots blocking the road. should be pepper sprayed like those climate protestors.
JWTSYD
Electric tractors still do not exists? Look like farmers have enough square for installing wind farms to charge tractors directly.
If Germany “fights war” with their industries, while giving them this much help, then Hungary is violating our rotten corpses.
Farmers, always playing the victims.
Factory farming is killing our planet; climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, soil degradation, water/soil/air pollution, water shortages, food shortages (80% of arable land is used for cattle and food for cattle and only provides 18% of our daily energy needs), eutrophication of our oceans (fertiliser), disrupted phosphate and nitrogen cycle (fertiliser) health issues from NCD’s (heart disease, diabetes and cancer), neurological diseases from pesticides, antibiotics resistance, zoonotic diseases potential and severe animal cruelty. Ditch factory farming, ditch meat and dairy.
Good.
They did this in Canada and got labelled terrorists. Will be interesting to see Germany’s reaction
There is no war on industry, everything is getting less.
Stop crying about it, everyone is poorer. That’s just the direction of Europe now.
Farmers are the most subsidised branches of business. How can they still complain? They eat up like literally half of the entire eu budget
Love that they left one lane open for emergency vehicles 🙂
So NOW it’s OK to block traffic.