Social tariff
The social tariff is usually the term used to describe tariff models that provide special price advantages for those with low incomes.
telecommunications
The best known is the Deutsche Telekom social tariff . This consists of a credit of a maximum of € 6.94 (net or € 8.05 incl. VAT ) or a maximum of € 8.72 (net or € 10.12 incl. VAT) for blind, deaf and Speech-impaired people, who are offset against the fees for standard connections chosen by themselves in Germany and abroad. The credit of the social tariff is not offset against the basic fee and not on international connections with the special CountrySelect tariff .
The social tariff can be applied for at Telekom by submitting proof that the eligibility requirements have been met, i.e. the exemption notice from ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Contribution Service (formerly: GEZ ), the BAföG notification or proof of one of the above-mentioned disabilities.
Telekom's social tariff cannot be offset against Internet connections. However, it can be combined with a DSL social tariff from another provider.
power supply
Since 2008, there has also been an increasing demand for social tariffs from energy supply companies, particularly for electricity and gas services, which are intended to make the increased energy costs more bearable for low-income earners and the unemployed. For example, the EU Commission drafted a “European Charter of the Rights of Energy Consumers”, in which it calls, among other things, for a free minimum supply of energy (electricity, heating, light) to prevent energy poverty . The Center for European Politics criticized these plans as encroaching on freedom of contract and occupational freedom. The electricity company Eon is also demanding an exemption from the GEZ for its social tariff, which it introduced in Bavaria in 2006 and extended to other federal states, and waives the basic fee for low-income customers. Consumer advocates criticize such tariffs, however, as an "advertising measure" because, among other things, there is no legal entitlement and contracts are severely limited.
RWE boss Jürgen Großmann rejected a social tariff like the SPD and the Left: “As much as I want to support the socially disadvantaged, I'm against it.” The service should be sold at its market price, “regardless of whether it is for rolls, sausages or electricity ". The state could certainly provide redistribution or help for those in need. “But for that there is the tax system or instruments such as housing benefit. You shouldn't transfer that to the company, ”said Großmann.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ General terms and conditions of the social tariff. ( Memento of November 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Telekom, as of February 5, 2013 (PDF file, 82 kB), accessed on April 26, 2013
- ↑ Social tariff now also for fast internet
- ↑ Telepolis: Energy at zero price for socially disadvantaged consumers? dated May 6, 2008
- ↑ Telepolis: "Pure advertising measure" from July 15, 2008
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: