Diesel tax breaks: German farmers gather to protest, block highways

Berlin: On the German government's move to scrap tax breaks on diesel used in agriculture, farmers in the country blocked highway access roads in parts of Germany on Monday. They gathered for demonstrations and announced a week's protest, the Associated Press reported.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's unpopular three-party coalition infuriated farmers last month by drawing up plans to abolish a car tax exemption for farming vehicles and the diesel tax breaks.

The proposals were part of a package to fill a 17-billion-euro (USD 18.6-billion) hole in the 2024 budget.

The government on Thursday climbed down partially, saying that the car tax exemption would be retained and the cuts in the diesel tax breaks would be staggered over three years. But the German Farmers' Association said it was still insisting on the plans being reversed fully and would go ahead with a "week of action" starting Monday.

In some areas, farmers used tractors to block entry roads to highways early Monday. A protest was planned in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, and a string of other demonstrations with tractors were planned across the country.

The protests are under scrutiny after a group of farmers on Thursday prevented Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck from disembarking a ferry in a small North Sea port as he returned from a personal trip to an offshore island.

That incident drew condemnation from government and opposition figures and the farmers association. Authorities have warned that far-right groups and others could try to capitalise on the protests. Farmers association chairman Joachim Rukwied told RBB Inforadio Monday that "we will ensure we are not infiltrated" by such groups.

Of the government's partial climbdown, Rukwied said: "This is absolutely insufficient. We can't carry this additional tax burden."

The budget revamp that included the disputed cuts was required after Germany's highest court annulled an earlier decision to repurpose 60 billion euros (almost USD 66 billion) originally meant to cushion the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic for measures to help combat climate change and modernise the country.

The manoeuvre fell afoul of Germany's strict, self-imposed limits on running up debt.

On top of potential disruption caused by the farmers' protests, travellers in Germany face a nearly three-day strike later this week by a union representing many of the country's train drivers, which is stepping up its action against state-owned railway operator Deutsche Bahn in an unrelated dispute over working hours and pay.

The GDL union is calling on its members to walk out from 2 am Wednesday until 6 pm Friday.