BERLIN, April 17 (Xinhua) -- German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer is seeking to reduce the value-added tax (VAT) levied on tickets for long-distance train travel in Germany from 19 percent to 7 percent, the minister told the German newspaper Bild in an interview on Wednesday.
Railway transportation in Germany was currently on a "good track" and the "important threshold" of 150 million long-distance passengers will be reached, said minister Scheuer.
Last year, Deutsche Bahn, Germany's state-owned railway company, transported almost 148 million passengers in long-distance traffic, marking a new record.
The reduction of VAT on ticket prices was necessary to make travelling by train more attractive, emphasized Scheuer. "This would relieve the burden on long-distance rail travelers by as much as 400 million euros (452.5 million U.S. dollars) per year," calculated the German transport minister.
A reduced value-added tax of 7 percent on tickets already applies to public short-distance traffic in Germany.
"Anyone who is serious about climate protection and switching from cars or planes to trains must start with the tax," said Scheuer.
Already in January, Germany's Green party had demanded a reduction of the VAT on tickets for long-distance rail travelers.
This was needed "if the German government is serious about its goal of transporting twice as many passengers by rail in 2030 as it does today," said Stephan Kuehn of the Green party.
Speaking to Bild on Wednesday, German transport minister Scheuer said that rail passenger numbers on the route between Berlin and Munich, for example, have doubled, and "we have already transferred 30 percent of passengers on this route from domestic flights to rail".
"That is the way I want to go - instead of bans, speed limits or increasing the cost of mobility," emphasized Scheuer.
