German government to help people pay for climbing fuel costs

Traffic flowed relatively smoothly across Europe as truckers, farmers and others angry about climbing fuel costs took a break after more than a week of protests. The German government was preparing measures to help commuters pay for gas and needy apartment dwellers pay for heating oil, the Finance Ministry said.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Finance Minister Hans Eichel have already agreed to earmark $ 444 mm to help the 2 mm Germans receiving housing assistance to pay for heating oil this winter. In addition, the government will raise the amount people who drive to work can claim as a tax write-off from 30 to 40 cents per km, starting in 2001.
Truckers in Stockholm and Goteborg, Sweden's two biggest cities, were planning protests, according to spokesman Adam Flamholc, with other cities joining. French truckers began demonstrations Sept. 4, winning a tax break from Paris and inspiring protests in other countries. Motorists in several other countries also have won concessions, while governments in Britain and Germany have refused to cut fuel taxes.