Most Germans are in favor of completely abolishing the solidarity surcharge. According to a Forsa survey for the “Stern”, 52% are in favor of a complete Soli abolition, while 44% find it wrong. 4% had no opinion.
The solidarity surcharge was introduced in 1995 to finance the German unification, and in 2021, the grand coalition abolished the tax for 90% of taxpayers. However, companies and high-income earners, such as singles with a gross annual income of over 110,000 euros, still have to pay the surcharge. The federal budget receives around 12 billion euros annually from the solidarity surcharge. CDU/CSU and FDP now promise a complete abolition in their election programs.
East Germans are slightly more in favor of the surcharge abolition than West Germans (54% to 52%). The strongest supporters of the surcharge abolition are FDP voters (74%), AfD voters (75%), and CDU/CSU voters (61%). On the other hand, SPD and Green voters are more opposed, with 58% and 63% respectively against the abolition.
The data were collected by the market and opinion research institute Forsa for the “Stern” and RTL Germany on December 16 and 17, 2024, among 1,003 people.
The exact wording of the question was: “The so-called solidarity surcharge on earned and capital income has only been paid by individuals or companies with very high incomes since 2021. Now, there is the demand to abolish the solidarity surcharge completely. Do you think that’s right or not right?