German farmers have been protesting at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin against government plans to cut farmer tax reliefs in relation to agri diesel.
A shift in politics was demanded by the president of the farm organisation, Deutscher Bauernverband e.V., Joachim Rukwied, in order to provide a future for farm families.
The protest follows government plans to cut farmer tax reliefs for both agri diesel and the annual vehicle tax.
These plans have been strictly rejected by the organisation, which represents over 90% of all farms in Germany and thus organised a protest yesterday (Monday, December 18).
The organisation’s president claimed that the German government is “not interested” in a functioning and competitive agriculture sector in Germany.
Cutting farmer tax reliefs would be a further “massive pressure” for farms, he said warning that these plans would weaken the country’s competitiveness in the EU.
German farmers
Germany’s green party Minister for Agriculture, Cem Özdemir attended the protest in Berlin. Minister Özdemir previously said that he can understand the “anger” among farmers.
While every sector has to make a contribution to the “difficult” budget situation, the minister said that if both tax reliefs are to be cut, agriculture will be “disproportionally burdened”.
“It cannot be the case that we demand more and more from our farmers but are not prepared to support them elsewhere,” Germany’s agriculture minister said.
The responsibility for both the agri diesel and the vehicle tax reliefs for vehicles in land use and forestry lies within the Federal Ministry of Finance, according to the minister.