New study by Prof. Dr. Marius Busemeyer shows the ignorance about the inequality of the commuter allowance!
A new study by Adrian Rinscheid and Marius Busemeyer shows that the commuter allowance is unsocial and harmful to the environment. But the knowledge about it is very small in the population. Every fourth person considers the commuter allowance to be social, reports the newspaper "Die Zeit" in an article about the study. Public information could change the debate about it and strengthen climate protection, the authors state in their study.
The newspaper "Die Zeit" published an article about the new study by Adrian Rinscheid and Marius Busemeyer on their findings about the commuter tax. According to the study, the subsidies provided by the Pendlerpauschale indirectly lead to environmental damage. They reinforce "the trend toward long commutes, since the costs of long commutes are partly compensated by the flat rate," the article says. As a result, it promotes urban sprawl, air pollution, noise and species extinction, it says. Germany could save four million tons of CO₂-equivalent annually by abolishing the commuter tax. The study by Adrian Rinscheid and Marius Busemeyer shows that large parts of the population are unaware of these negative consequences. According to the study, only a minority considers the commuter flat rate to be antisocial and harmful to the environment. You can read the full article in German about the new study by Adrian Rinscheid and Marius Busemeyer here.