A leading figure in the German liberal party, Christian Lindner, has called for a shift in the country’s climate policy in order to fund tax relief measures. According to Lindner, Germany’s climate target should be postponed by five years to 2050, which would save billions of euros in green subsidies annually and allow for the continued use of technologies like the combustion engine.
Furthermore, he emphasized the need to reduce the economic consequences of irregular migration. “We can save two-digit billion amounts if we pursue a consistent immigration policy and sign repatriation agreements with countries like Afghanistan and Syria”he said.
Lindner claimed that such measures would generate significant sums and drive new growth, with an estimated 150 billion euros in savings by 2029.
As concrete relief measures, Lindner proposed increasing the tax-free income by 1,000 euros for every individual, making salary increases and overtime more noticeable in net terms and abolishing the solidarity surcharge.
He ruled out a reform of the debt brake, stating that European fiscal rules limit Germany’s credit take-up. “If Germany deliberately breaks the EU rules, for example, there would be no holding back in France”Lindner warned, “and we would have another euro crisis within a few years.