Germany to use windfall tax income to reduce energy prices for end consumers

FILE PHOTO: Gas flames of a cooker are pictured in a private home, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Bad Honnef near Bonn, Germany, March 30, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo

Germany's government will use income from windfall taxes to lower end-consumer prices for gas, oil and coal, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday, announcing measures to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices on its population.

Scholz said the government plans to tie certain social benefits to the current or expected inflation rate in the future and will earmark 1.5 billion euros ($1.49 billion) for a discounted public transportation offer.