Angry German farmers drive their tractors to Berlin over diesel tax

The government plans to cut tax breaks for diesel used in agriculture, as it tries to plug a 17 billion euro hole in the country’s budget.

Transcript

00:00 German farmers drove their tractors to Berlin`s Brandenburg Gate on Monday after hearing that

00:05 they`d no longer receive a tax break for using diesel. The government needs to plug a 17

00:11 billion euro hole in its budget and has targeted the agricultural sector for not converting

00:16 to cleaner energy, namely electricity.

00:19 "It`s a disaster. Small businesses, for example, spend around 5,000 euros per business. They

00:29 have to pay more in the end. It hurts. Especially with the current revenue that we have, plus

00:35 the additional costs that we had to bear in the last years, it`s a disaster."

00:42 Surprisingly, Germany`s agriculture minister has sided with the farmers, saying they have

00:47 no alternative but to use diesel. Meanwhile, the government is also scrapping a car tax

00:52 exemption for farm vehicles.

00:54 "The consequences, not only for us, but for the entire consumers, the food will be more

01:00 expensive."

01:01 Farmers say their heavy machinery can only run on diesel and it`s not yet possible to

01:04 switch to electric. The Farmers` Association says the agriculture sector could lose nearly

01:09 a billion euros.

01:10 [BLANK_AUDIO]