Published : 16 Sep 2026, 03:26 AM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:50 AM
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has promised measures to help consumers cope with record fuel prices but rejected a proposed windfall tax on energy companies, saying there was currently no sufficient factual or legal basis for such a levy.
"At the moment, I see no sufficient factual basis nor any legal basis for taxing so-called excess profits," Merz told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.
Merz said Germany could only tax companies based in the country, while acknowledging that the government needed to consider other ways of helping consumers facing higher fuel costs.
"We can look at various taxes and fees to help consumers in Germany right now," Merz said. "We will discuss this issue within the coalition, and I hope we will find solutions soon."
Earlier on Tuesday, Merz said proposals to shield consumers from record fuel prices were coming "very soon", as he faces growing pressure over the impact of soaring energy costs ahead of a closely watched state election.
His Christian Democrats (CDU) face the prospect of their worst state election result ever in predominantly rural Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where voters go to the polls on Sunday.
"For many people who rely on their cars every day, the limit of what they can bear has been reached," Merz told a business event.
The nationwide daily average price for a litre of E10 petrol reached a record €2.286 on Monday, according to figures cited by Merz.
Fuel prices have risen sharply since the conflict in the Middle East began in late February, increasing pressure on governments to cushion the impact on households and businesses.
Merz has not provided details of how any government intervention would work, but said he was consulting Germany's 16 federal states and coalition partners in Berlin.
Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil has backed efforts to impose a windfall tax on European energy firms and was due to press the case at an informal meeting of EU finance ministers.
Klingbeil said on Tuesday he did not yet know what measures Merz was considering, but stressed that decisions needed to be reached quickly.
The chancellor's comments come as the government weighs possible tax and fee measures to ease the pressure on consumers while resisting calls for a levy on energy companies benefiting from higher prices.
