The German government's decision to extend electricity tax breaks exclusively to the manufacturing industry and agriculture - and thus also to productive horticulture - has been met with sharp criticism in the more service-oriented commercial horticulture sector. The industry as a whole is affected by high electricity costs, regardless of its legal form. While agricultural horticultural businesses continue to benefit from the reduced electricity tax of 0.05 cents per kilowatt-hour, commercial horticulture is left out.
"This differentiation is not only disappointing, but also objectively incomprehensible," explains Michael Ballenberger, chairman of the Federal Association of German Cemetery Gardeners (BdF) in the Central Horticultural Association (ZVG). "Commercial horticulture is just as much under pressure from high energy costs as agricultural businesses. Such unequal treatment artificially divides the industry and jeopardizes the economic future of many businesses."
Energy efficiency and climate protection
The coalition agreement's mandate to reduce the electricity tax for all companies has thus been effectively broken. Instead of fair, cross-sector relief, the federal government is creating new inequalities—at the expense of many medium-sized horticultural companies that fall under neither the manufacturing nor the agricultural definition.
"Energy efficiency and climate protection are important to us, but they must not jeopardize economic viability," adds Ulrich Haage, Chairman of the Federal Association of Retail Gardeners (BVE) in the ZVG. "If commercial horticultural businesses have to accept competitive disadvantages compared to agricultural businesses in the future, this will jeopardize jobs, investments, and regional supply and services."
Uniform regulation needed
The ZVG is therefore appealing to the federal government to reconsider its decision and create uniform regulations that treat all horticultural businesses equally, regardless of their legal classification. The industry expects the original promise made in the coalition agreement to be implemented fairly.
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