3 ms·

No it’s not, silly. There aren’t any tax breaks for solar installations in Germany. There are guaranteed prices energy companies have to pay for solar energy fr

by arrrg 14y ago

No it’s not, silly. There aren’t any tax breaks for solar installations in Germany. There are guaranteed prices energy companies have to pay for solar energy from small private installations. And besides, this is about the cost of the installation. You did read the article?

tsotha 14y ago
>There aren’t any tax breaks for solar installations in Germany. There are guaranteed prices energy companies have to pay for solar energy from small private installations. That's even better than a tax break. Who can turn down free money?
- arrrg 14y ago
  That’s not the point. The point is the ignorance on display here. If you don’t even know the basics of a policy you have no right to talk about it.
uvdiv 14y ago
There's a tax break right in the article: "They pay more in sales tax (German installers are exempt)." But you're right, that the largest subsidy is not paid out of tax money, but through a (very large [0]) mandated surcharge on private utility bills. There's little practical difference. It's functionally equivalent to a tax subsidy funded by a tax on electricity. [0] http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/25/eu-oettinger-idUSL5E8KP22V20120925 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/25/eu-oettinger-idUSL...
- arrrg 14y ago
  That’s not a tax break specific to solar installations. In fact, it’s not a tax break at all. It is just a consequence of how German tax law is constructed. It has nothing to do with subsidizing solar installations. If you register your private solar installation as a business, you are exempt from paying sales tax if you also pay revenue tax (= sales tax) for the energy you are selling. Just like the baker buying her oven, if a business buys something for the business, it is (usually) exempt from paying sales tax for it – since sales tax is supposed to be only paid once, not several times. You know, what annoys me is ignorance about the actual policies and then pontificating as if you have it all figured out.
  - walshemj 14y ago
    if the tax law is constructed to have advantages for these "home businesses" then its a tax break and don't get me started on the "hobby" farms that get subsidy's from the CAP budget. An I am a pro EU guy you can see why Ukip are gaining in popularity

by arrrg 14y ago

tsotha 14y ago

>There aren’t any tax breaks for solar installations in Germany. There are guaranteed prices energy companies have to pay for solar energy from small private installations. That's even better than a tax break. Who can turn down free money?

arrrg 14y ago
That’s not the point. The point is the ignorance on display here. If you don’t even know the basics of a policy you have no right to talk about it.

uvdiv 14y ago

There's a tax break right in the article: "They pay more in sales tax (German installers are exempt)." But you're right, that the largest subsidy is not paid out of tax money, but through a (very large [0]) mandated surcharge on private utility bills. There's little practical difference. It's functionally equivalent to a tax subsidy funded by a tax on electricity. [0] http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/25/eu-oettinger-idUSL5E8KP22V20120925 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/25/eu-oettinger-idUSL...

arrrg 14y ago
That’s not a tax break specific to solar installations. In fact, it’s not a tax break at all. It is just a consequence of how German tax law is constructed. It has nothing to do with subsidizing solar installations. If you register your private solar installation as a business, you are exempt from paying sales tax if you also pay revenue tax (= sales tax) for the energy you are selling. Just like the baker buying her oven, if a business buys something for the business, it is (usually) exempt from paying sales tax for it – since sales tax is supposed to be only paid once, not several times. You know, what annoys me is ignorance about the actual policies and then pontificating as if you have it all figured out.
- walshemj 14y ago
  if the tax law is constructed to have advantages for these "home businesses" then its a tax break and don't get me started on the "hobby" farms that get subsidy's from the CAP budget. An I am a pro EU guy you can see why Ukip are gaining in popularity