Overview

• The federal cabinet restricted the coalition’s promised five-cent per kWh electricity tax cut to industry and agriculture, excluding private households.
• Households will be exempt from the gas storage levy and benefit from reduced transmission fees under the interim deal.
• Officials said a universal household tax cut would cost €5.4 billion annually and face funding gaps from 2027, prompting its postponement until budgetary space opens.
• CDU, SPD and CSU leaders reached the compromise after a five-hour Koalitionsausschuss meeting aimed at reconciling fiscal discipline with campaign promises.
• Business associations, opposition parties and Union MPs criticized the delay as a breach of the coalition agreement and warned of eroded public trust.