Rights : Terminating your job contract for poor performance is next to impossible for employers in Germany. The reasoning behind this law is that among the five top performers, there will always be one who is the best and one who is not. Thus, terminating an employee because they were poor at their job or unable to meet the employer's high standards is not a valid legal basis. Employers' goal of PIP is to wear you down so that you leave the company yourself. This was the one thing Jean (labor law lawyer) wanted all webinar participants to take away. Request webinar slides and recording here ->
Health : Germany banned lead pipes in properties. If you are a tenant, ensure that your building doesn't have lead pipes. You can ask the landlord or Hausverwaltung about the same. They are legally obligated to inform you in writing. If your landlord refuses or delays the decommissioning of lead pipes, you are eligible for a reduced rent. Read more ->
Health : Germany plans to abolish free health insurance for dependent spouses. The proposal is to charge a flat fee of 225€ to spouses who are currently insured free of charge. Free health insurance currently costs the public health system 11.4 billion euros. By charging a flat fee, the health insurance funds save 11.4 billion euros AND will generate 6 billion euros in revenue. The government also expects that more people will go to work after the reform. This will further increase the revenue of the health insurance and pension system. Read more ->
Finance : You can deduct 50% more relocation expenses from taxes if you move a second time within 5 years. You can deduct unlimited expenses if the move is work-related. The tax office allows you to deduct 20% of your relocation expenses if the move was due to personal reasons. Read more ->
Finance : Double your tax savings by reducing your depreciation period. If you own an old investment property, you can reduce your standard depreciation period of 50 years to 25 years or less. This doubles your depreciation rate (2% to 4%) per year and hence the tax savings. To apply for a shorter depreciation period, you need a report from a Gutachter. It should explain the property's reduced useful life. Read more ->
58% of the fuel cost in Germany is taxes
Germany is among the three most expensive countries in Europe for fuel. Fuel (petrol and diesel) prices in Germany is 20% above the EU average.
The main reason is taxes.
Around 58% of every liter of petrol goes straight to the state in the form of the following taxes:
Energy tax: A fixed 65.45 cents per liter of petrol, unchanged since 2003.
CO₂ levy: Around 15.7 cents per liter, and rising every year.
19% VAT: Applied on top of the already-taxed price. This adds 31 cents at current fuel prices.
Without these charges, a liter of petrol would cost you around 82 cents (as of March 2026).
Moreover, these taxes amplify the oil price shock. Because when the base price rises, VAT rises with it.
Phishing : PayPal phishing alert. You'll recieve an email that looks exactly like an official PayPal email. It says, "Your card was removed from your PayPal account." You will be asked to connect your card again by entering your card details. Don't click any links in the email. Open your official PayPal app instead to find out the truth. [1]
Phishing : BaFin warns about WhatsApp groups that link to the platform MORRISONBOOST. These WhatsApp groups are enticing consumers to trade financial instruments via the MORRISONBOOST platform. This platform is not supervised by BaFin. [2]
Product Recalls : IKEA SMÖJTRÄD chandelier candles. IKEA has recalled these scented candles due to a fire risk. Stop using them and return them to any IKEA for a full refund (no receipt needed). [3]
For emergencies:
BSI Lagezentrum: +49 228 999582 5110
BaFin Consumer Protection: consumer@bafin.de
Police: 110.
Here is a newsletter worth checking
Smart Living in Germany shares practical tips on banking, insurance, taxes, cashback, plus a weekly selection of offers and promotions that help you save money and spend smarter. We find it very helpful. You can subscribe here.
Sexual violence in the EU
Sexual violence in the EU has increased overall. It decreased by 7.3% in Germany and 52.6% in the Netherlands. However, it increased drastically in other member states. Read more ->
Need help communicating complex ideas visually? We help you turn data into your most persuasive story. Contact us to learn more.
AI Corner: Will there be fewer jobs due to AI? Probably not.
Most of us expect AI to shrink the job market. But we believe it will have the opposite effect.
Here is the observation of a 19th-century economist to support it.
In 1865, William Stanley Jevons noticed that a new, far more efficient steam engine didn't reduce the amount of coal Britain used.
It increased it.
Coal became cheap enough to power factories, railways, and steamships that nobody had previously considered building.
More efficiency created more demand, not less. This became known as Jevons' Paradox.
The same logic may apply to AI.
Yes, AI will replace certain tasks. But it also makes things possible that were previously too expensive or complex to attempt.
New projects, new products, and new companies that didn't exist before will come into existence.
The total amount of work won't shrink. It shifts, and then it grows.
AI-specific job postings have jumped 117% year-on-year.
Recruiter demand is approaching 2022 levels again, indicating that companies are planning to expand.
This growth is currently concentrated in tech. But if Jevons' Paradox holds, the effect will spread as AI adoption reaches other industries.
Here is evidence to support this.
Meta just released the TRIBE v2 that predicts human brain activity across vision, sound, and language. Meta released the model, codebase, paper, and an interactive demo for everyone. The goal is to help researchers push the boundaries of neuroscience and accelerate development in this field.
More such developments will open doors of accelerated innovation in other fields.
One key takeaway from this article -> Start using AI (paid version) in your daily work. The more you use it, the better you'll understand its capabilities.
Germany passed the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Act (KRITIS-Dachgesetz). This requires facilities that qualify as critical infrastructure to not only safeguard the facility physically but also against cyberattacks. Qualifying companies must register with the "Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance" by 17 July 2026.Read the qualification criteria and obligations here ->
The SPD suffered its worst-ever result in Baden-Württemberg (5.5%) and lost power in Rhineland-Palatinate for the first time in 35 years. 75% of Germans in a recent poll doubt the SPD leadership can turn things around. [1]
Cabin crew at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cityline voted 94% in favour of strike action, according to their union. A strike isn't imminent but could affect travel plans. Learn your rights if your flight is cancelled here ->[2]
Chancellor Merz suggested Germany may need to keep coal-fired power plants running longer than the planned 2038 phase-out. "I am not prepared to jeopardize our energy supply simply because we set deadlines years ago," he said at an event in Frankfurt. [3]
On Day 29 of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, fighting is intensifying on multiple fronts with no ceasefire in sight. Yemen's Houthis opened a new front by launching their first missile strike on Israel. Iran continues to block the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has rejected Trump's ceasefire proposal with maximalist counter-demands. Diplomatic efforts are ongoing, with Pakistan hosting multilateral talks starting Monday. [4]
Ukraine hit Russia's two largest Baltic oil export ports three times in five days. This knocked out 40% of Russia's oil export capacity. Russia has kicked off a surge in mechanized assaults and a massive drone-and-missile barrage of nearly 1,000 munitions in a single day. The US-Iran and Russia-Ukraine conflicts are now intertwined. Russia is reportedly preparing to supply drones to Iran, and the US is weighing redirecting weapons from Ukraine to the Middle East. [5]
Community Corner
Need support with your residence permit or citizenship. Checkout LegalWeg*.
Reviews mean everything for online platforms, and GermanPedia is no different.
You can help us compete in Google search by leaving reviews on Google. These really (yes, really) help and are a vital part of Google's discovery and recommendation algorithms.
So, if you find what we are doing helpful, please leave a simple star rating or a short review on Google. This will help more users discover GermanPedia.
New here? Check out GermanPediaDid someone forward you this? Subscribe to this newsletter. Your unfair advantage in Germany We brought you another free webinar with a labor law lawyer. If you want us to organize a webinar on a particular topic and/or with a specific professional, simply reply to this email and share. Essentials Health : The age for mammography screening is reduced from 50 to 45. If you are in the age group 45 to 49, you can get the mammography screening for early breast...
New here? Check out GermanPediaDid someone forward you this? Subscribe to this newsletter. Your unfair advantage in Germany Essentials Finance : The government plans to pay 10 € per month toward your child's retirement. It is part of the proposal "Frühstart-Rente". The law is expected to pass in 2026. The state will pay €10 per month into a personal pension investment account for each child aged 6–18 attending school in Germany. Read more -> Finance : Investing in German new builds. We had a...
New here? Check out GermanPediaDid someone forward you this? Subscribe to this newsletter. Your unfair advantage in Germany Essentials Belated happy International Women's Day to every woman who shows up, leads with strength, and lifts others along the way. 🌸 Finance : Your statutory pensions will increase by 4.24% on July 1, 2026. [1] Health : You can file a complaint against a doctor or a hospital if you believe the treatment they provided was incorrect. It's always recommended to first...