Nuclear energy firms may sue Berlin over new taxes (Roundup)

Jun 18, 2010, 12:10 GMT

Berlin - Utility firms operating nuclear power plants in Germany have no legal basis for a proposed lawsuit that would fight the planned introduction of a new tax on fuel rods, the federal government said on Friday.

The comment came in response to a report by the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine that utility companies are considering legal action over the proposed tax on the rods required to produce nuclear power.

A spokesman for the environment ministry said there was 'little legal substance' to a political agreement struck 10 years ago between power plant operators and the previous left-wing government.

The deal promised that there would be no further tax increases, if operators agreed to wind down nuclear energy in Germany over the following 20 years.

However, Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right government has backed away from the agreement, and is negotiating with the nuclear industry to extend runtimes beyond the agreed-upon deadline.

Government ministers pledged to introduce the fuel rod tax in a budget draft earlier this month, as part of a series of measures aimed at cutting the state deficit. The tax would 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.