FDP Parliamentary Group Chairman Christian Dürr believes the proposed tax reliefs by the Free Democrats are financeable without the debt brake reform. “Our goal is to save, for example, by shaping the social state more precisely, eliminating costly subsidies and bureaucracy” Dürr told the Funke Media Group’s Sunday editions. “This would lead to more growth and higher tax revenues.”
Experts at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), on the other hand, doubt the financeability of the FDP’s promised tax relief of around 188 billion euros. Cuts to the social welfare, for instance, as demanded by the Free Democrats and the Union in the past, would not generate enough savings. Moreover, reducing the minimum existence is considered incompatible with the Basic Law. The well-off would primarily benefit from the FDP’s tax plans.
Dürr also rejected a coalition with the SPD and the Greens after the federal election. The FDP stands for genuine reforms. “I don’t know at the moment how reforms could succeed with the SPD and the Greens, the Union is better positioned” Dürr said. “Reform policy is often a campaign theme for the SPD and the Greens, but never a government theme.”
Dürr advocated for an alliance with the Union. “I acknowledge that the CDU has reformed itself after the Merkel era and today represents many market-oriented positions, such as tax cuts” he said. “I could imagine cooperation with the Union.