These changes bring the second half of the year:
Tobacco tax makes e-cigarettes more expensive
From July 1st, the tobacco tax will also apply for the first time to liquids that are vaporized in e-cigarette devices and then inhaled.
16 cents per milliliter is due, by 2026 the value will gradually increase to 32 cents.
A 10-milliliter bottle, which has previously cost 4.95 euros in stores, could rise to 6.85 euros including tobacco tax and VAT - assuming that manufacturers and retailers are counting on constant net income.
It is possible that they take a slightly lower retail price at the expense of their margin.
The demand for these liquids is therefore currently going through the roof.
"Consumers are stockpiling large amounts in order to avoid the higher prices for as long as possible," said the chairman of the Alliance for Tobacco-Free Enjoyment (BfTG), Dustin Dahlmann, of the German Press Agency.
The alliance speaks for wholesalers and retailers.
Another spokesman for the industry is the Association of E-cigarette Trade (VdEH), which also confirms booming business because of “stockpiling purchases”.
However, the prices will not rise suddenly on July 1st.
Because the old tax rate still applies to the so-called old stock, i.e. only VAT.
This means the goods that were put on the market by June 30th.
However, the two organizations expect that such old stocks will be used up quickly.
According to studies, e-cigarette liquids contain significantly fewer harmful substances than tobacco cigarettes.
However, there are still no long-term studies to assess the health consequences of inhalation.
The aerosols from e-cigarettes also contain carcinogenic substances, as pointed out by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), for example.
Easier to terminate contracts online
Anyone who concludes a contract on the Internet will be able to terminate it more easily in the future.
From July 1st, so-called continuing obligations will be subject to the obligation to have a cancellation button, with which consumers can get rid of their contracts without much searching and writing letters.
cellular
A new EU regulation brings improvements for mobile phone customers.
From July, you should be able to use the same services in other EU countries as at home – provided that the same networks and technologies are available in the Member State you are visiting.
Consumers who can use 5G at home should also have access to 5G services in the 27 EU countries as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
In addition, roaming services are to be automatically interrupted in order to avoid further charges when previously set upper limits have been reached through the consumption of data or call volume.
This also applies to roaming outside the EU.
Minimum wage increases
The statutory minimum wage will rise from 9.82 euros to 10.45 euros per hour on July 1st.
That is an increase of a good six percent.
Packages are getting more expensive
Sending parcels via DHL will be more expensive on July 1st.
A two-kilogram package whose brand is available online now costs EUR 5.49, which is 50 cents more.
The picture is mixed for shipments abroad: in some cases, the fees remain constant, in others they almost double, for example with heavier packages to the USA.
No Hartz IV sanctions
Job seekers will have to fear fewer Hartz IV sanctions by the middle of next year.
The possibility of reducing unemployment benefit II by 30 percent in the event of a breach of duty is to be suspended for one year.
This applies, for example, if reasonable work is not accepted.
However, in the event of repeated failure to register or missed deadlines, there is a risk of benefit cuts of up to 10 percent of the standard rate.
The law is scheduled to go into effect on July 1.
Obligation to take back old electrical equipment
The obligation to take back old electronic devices will be extended on July 1st.
Then, for example, supermarkets and discounters will also be affected if they offer such devices several times a year.
Significant increase in pensions
There is good news for the 21 million pensioners in Germany: In the west, pensions will increase by 5.35 percent as of July 1st and by 6.12 percent in the east.
There are also improvements for people who have been drawing a disability pension for a long time.
In the future, pensioners who received a disability pension from 2001 to 2018 will receive supplements.
The fact that the increase in pensions is as strong as it has been for a long time is thanks to the good wage development in Germany.
End of the Corona "citizen tests"
The offer of free quick tests for everyone ends in June.
“Citizen tests” are only free for certain risk groups: children up to five years of age, women at the beginning of pregnancy, visitors to clinics and nursing homes, members of the household of infected people.
As a rule, three euros are now due out of pocket per test: for example, before attending concerts indoors, before larger family celebrations or visits to older people, after risk contacts in the event of a warning on the Corona app.
Elimination of the EEG surcharge
After more than 20 years, the so-called EEG surcharge, which customers pay on the electricity bill, will no longer apply.
It is currently still 3.72 cents per kilowatt hour.
Experts do not expect electricity prices to fall as a result of the abolition, but at least a dampening of the sharp increase.
Property tax statement
According to a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, the property tax must be recalculated: millions of house, apartment and property owners must therefore submit a kind of second tax return from July to the end of October at the latest, usually electronically via the Elster platform - with data such as hall number, Year of construction, living space and standard land value.
Depending on the federal state, sometimes more or less information may be required because the states use different calculation models.
For apartment owners, it is usually a few hundred euros a year, for owners of larger apartment buildings it can also be four-digit amounts.
The owners will probably not find out how much is due in the end until 2025,