Comments on: Germans subsidize traffic jams

By: Guido Brünetti

Guido Brünetti — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:33:40 +0000

The tax deduction you get for driving to work is not a subsidy. As a matter of principle you are not required to pay income tax for expenses that are purely work-related, for which your daily commute certainly qualifies.

Just as every company needs to buy some things, then sells some things, then is only taxed for the difference (profit), the same principle holds true for every private person earning money for a living.

The government *tried* to paint it as a subsidy and reduce it substantially, but our highest court declared that law as unconstitutional. That doesn’t mean that the government couldn’t remove that “subsidy”, if it wanted to but it would take a major rework of the tax code to do it in a fair and therefore constitutional way.

By: Karalena

Karalena — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:33:28 +0000

Ok, the Sanifair system is a very odd invention. But what is even more weird, is the reason why we have it. It is because there was a pee-fee mafia in Germany a couple of years ago. Some gangs devided the toilets of highway rest stops among them and collected the money the cleaning ladies got. That’s why some people came up with the Coupon system. That’s no joke!

By: CM

CM — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:38:03 +0000

Now that I read this, I just have to share my experience on peeing at the Autobahn for real survivers with all the other readers of this brilliant weblog:
Next time you feel you have to relief yourself during a long trip on the Autobahn, you go to the shop at first and buy a drink (just in case you’re thirsty), next you hit the restroom and then you go to the shop again and trade your coupon for cigarettes. Why particularly these evil sticks? Because they are the only item available for the same price you have to pay everywhere else.
If you follow my little survival-guide, you won’t feel scammed next time you’ve visited the only place on earth more expensive than palm island in Dubai.

By: jochen

jochen — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:01:45 +0000

Nicht zu vergessen die Werbeflut, die man beim Wasserlassen über sich ergehen lassen muss …

By: Ron Paul

Ron Paul — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:53:50 +0000

I realize that it is hard to understand for an American that Germany considers a 12 miles trip to work a long way, in America that would hardly get you to a shopping mall and back. Wait till you have Germany’s gas prices, drill baby drill!

By: Stefan

Stefan — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:15:51 +0000

“In America we use the tax code to subsidize home ownership,”

Ist das tatsächlich so? :o)

Wenn ich mir die aktuelle Krise der Weltwirtschaft ansehe, die durch die Mentalität der Amerikaner ausgelöst wurde alles auf Pump zu kaufen, dann scheint das ja prima funktioniert zu haben.
Ich meine hier ausdrücklich weniger die Immobilien-Deals (die man wohl überall selten in Bar bezahlt) sondern eher die Kreditkarten-Schlamperei.

Aber: Nothing for ungood.
Zumindest ist Euer Mr. President bald Geschichte. Die größte Pfeife noch vor Richard Nixon. Unglaublich, wie man in nur 8 Jahren ein Land und dessen Ansehen so schädigen kann.

Gruß Stefan

By: Martin

Martin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:49:33 +0000

Paying for peeing ist stupid - True.
But:
I´d rather be forced to pay for that relief than for checking my tire pressure.
Which is absolutely common in the US.

0,75$ for AIR.

Without wanting to make it a competition - but this is even more stupid and dangerous as hell.
And it might be one of the many reasons, why on US highways it´s pretty hard to find a few feet of road not clustered with the remains of many flat tires.

BTW:
Love your blog, interesting POV!

By: Viviane

Viviane — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:04:04 +0000

While I realize I have to spend the 50c on something I would have otherwise not bought, I am so very grateful for the amazingly clean toilets that I don’t mind. At least you get a coupon in return, I have before had to pay 50c (at BK for example) without getting anything back.

By: hannah

hannah — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:27:37 +0000

Well just keep the coupons somewhere in the car that’s the trick.

Well not really . My mother has about 10 coupons in her car by now and on our last trip we stopped at a (the last one out there ? ) non sanifair restroom

By: Tarkus

Tarkus — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 10:06:53 +0000

It’s a mistake to think that the financial support of driving to the work place causes traffic holdup. The traffic would be there anyway, even without support! And, just for your information, public transportation is supported, too.