German farmers gathered in Berlin to protest against planned cuts to tax breaks for agricultural diesel as part of a government plan to address a 17 billion-euro hole in next year’s budget, Associated Press reports.
This budget gap arose after Germany’s top court rejected repurposing 60 billion euros initially allocated for pandemic relief to climate change measures, due to Germany’s strict debt limits.
The discontent has grown over proposed measures, including cutting tax breaks for agricultural diesel and ending car tax exemptions for farming vehicles. Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir expressed concerns, emphasizing that farmers have “no alternative” to diesel and that the cuts overburden the sector.
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck cautioned against revisiting the budget deal without proposing alternative financing solutions.
