2024-08-04 23:25:44
Further lawsuits
The traffic light must tremble in the face of these judgments
Updated on 30.07.2024Reading time: 3 min.
The Federal Constitutional Court has partially overturned the electoral law amendments made by the traffic light coalition. But that is not all – further lawsuits against traffic light projects are pending.
The most important things at a glance
On Tuesday, the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ruled on constitutional complaints against the electoral reform passed by the traffic light government. The result: parts of the new law are not constitutional. Read what that means here.
But that’s not all. There are also constitutional complaints against other projects of the traffic light government, which are being examined by the judges. They could cause important projects of the coalition of the SPD, Greens and FDP to fail. An overview:
There was an important change to the solidarity surcharge (Soli) in 2021: for the past three years, only high earners and companies have had to pay the solidarity surcharge, and it has been abolished for 90 percent of taxpayers. This regulation is a thorn in the side of the FDP in particular. Liberal MPs took the partial abolition of the Soli to court when their party was not yet in government.
The Karlsruhe judges could make a decision this year that would have a significant impact on the German federal budget. If the Constitutional Court overturns the solidarity surcharge, this would create a hole of 12.75 billion euros in the budget for 2025. The revenue from the solidarity surcharge is firmly included in the upcoming budget.
But that’s not all: The judges could decide that the state would have to pay back revenue from the solidarity surcharge in recent years. That would be around 65 billion euros since 2020.
Last year, the Federal Constitutional Court stopped the process of passing the Heating Act before the summer recess. The reason for this step was the court’s assessment that the rights of MPs were not sufficiently protected. An application for an interim injunction submitted by CDU MP Thomas Heilmann led to this ruling.
However, Heilmann’s main application has not yet been decided. If the court rules in his favor, constitutional complaints could be filed against the Heating Act. In the worst case scenario for the traffic light coalition, it could even be repealed.
Heilmann made it clear that his motion was not aimed at the substantive aim of the Heating Act, but rather criticized the “very inadequate” parliamentary procedure. If the Constitutional Court follows his argument, it could set guidelines for future legislative procedures. These would ensure that MPs are given enough time to deliberate.
The traffic light coalition has introduced two increases in student loans. The second increase came about under pressure from student representatives, unions and the coalition partners SPD and Greens. The additional annual expenditure for this increase for the coming winter semester amounts to a mid-three-digit million amount.
Despite these measures, the governing coalition could be forced to mobilize additional financial resources for the Bafög. A case that has been pending for some time before the Federal Constitutional Court could be decided this year. The focus is on a lawsuit by a psychology student who argues that the monthly Bafög requirement rate is too low and violates the basic right to a dignified minimum standard of living.
The complaint was written several years ago and refers to the Bafög rates in 2014/2015. Nevertheless, the court could make fundamental statements on the calculation of the training aid. The German Student Union repeatedly criticizes the Bafög rates because, in their opinion, they are chronically too low, even compared to the citizen’s allowance. From the winter semester of 2024/2025, the Bafög rate is to be 475 euros per month plus a housing allowance of 380 euros.
The Union faction in the Bundestag is suing because of the failed establishment of an investigative committee into the tax scandal at Warburg Bank. The reason: the applicant MPs and the faction had their rights violated by a resolution of the Bundestag that prevented the establishment of the committee.
The coalition factions SPD, Greens and FDP voted against the Union’s initiative. The committee of inquiry is to look into the role of Olaf Scholz as former head of government of Hamburg. The SPD politician is accused of having influenced the “Cum-Ex” tax scandal at the Hamburg Warburg Bank as mayor. He has always denied this.