The rich should give more so that normal earners have something extra in their pockets – the SPD wants to use this demand in the federal election campaign. Now further details are becoming known.
The SPD in the Bundestag not only wants to tax the income of very rich people more heavily, but also their assets. The aim is for a higher income tax for the highest incomes, as well as “a fair inheritance tax, a new wealth tax and a fundamental reform of the debt rule,” said deputy group leader Achim Post to the editorial network Germany (RND).
The SPD’s goal is for around 95 percent of taxpayers to ultimately have more money in their pockets through an income tax cut. “It’s about the working middle, about the working families in this country.”
The SPD had already entered the federal election campaign in 2021 with the demand to reintroduce the wealth tax. The election manifesto said at the time: “Anyone who has a lot of wealth must make a greater contribution to financing our community. That’s why, among other things, we will introduce a moderate, uniform tax rate of one percent for very high wealth.” At the same time, there will be high personal allowances, so that the burden will be concentrated on the particularly rich. The basis of companies should be spared from the tax.
A majority of people in Germany are also in favor of reintroducing the wealth tax. This emerges from a Forsa survey from the beginning of July for “Stern”. According to this, 62 percent of citizens would be in favor if private individuals and companies had to pay such a tax on assets of one million euros or more. According to a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, wealth tax has no longer been levied since 1997.
The CSU immediately criticized the Social Democrats’ tax plans: “Despite years of participation in government, the SPD has missed every opportunity to noticeably relieve the burden on the majority of taxpayers. With the wealth tax, the SPD is once again pulling its oldest hat out of the ideological box,” said Bavaria’s Finance Minister Albert Füracker (CSU).
At a closed meeting in Berlin at the weekend, the SPD executive board approved a strategy paper to combat the economic downturn and thus set the first course for the federal election campaign. In it, the party leadership advocates a fundamental income tax reform that will relieve the burden on 95 percent of taxpayers. To achieve this, the highest one percent of income should be taxed more heavily. According to party leader Saskia Esken, this involves earnings of more than 15,000 euros per month.