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Report: Nuclear energy firms may sue Berlin over new taxes
Jun 18, 2010, 10:36 GMT
Berlin - Utility firms operating nuclear power plants in Germany are considering taking legal action against the planned introduction of a new tax by the federal government, the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper reported Friday.
In its budget draft earlier this month Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right government pledged to introduce a tax on the fuel rods required to operate a nuclear power station, intended to bring in some 2.3 billion euros (2.8 billion dollars) per year until 2014.
'Our obligations to our shareholders require us to take legal advice' on the matter, a spokesman for E.on, one of Europe's largest power generators, said.
A spokesman for RWE also said the company was considering legal action.
There are 17 nuclear power plants in Germany, generating around 28 per cent of the country's electricity.
The nuclear industry in Germany is currently negotiating with the government to be allowed to run their stations longer than had been mandated in an law set down by a previous left-wing government in 2000.
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