A German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has accused the Union of planning to reduce taxes only for the wealthy, to the detriment of all other citizens. “The CDU and CSU are proposing massive tax cuts for those who already earn the most” Scholz told the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday edition).
“And they don’t say where the money will come from for all our tasks. Shall I tell you a secret? It will be at the expense of all others in Germany” the Chancellor said. The SPD, on the other hand, wants to only relieve lower and middle-income earners and offset the additional burden by further taxing the top one percent of taxpayers.
“We can relieve the lower and middle-income earners if those who earn the most, the top one percent, contribute to it. It’s about fairness in the tax system” Scholz said. “The SPD proposes that the top one percent of those who earn the most contribute to a relief of 95 percent of taxpayers” said the SPD politician. “Even a Chancellor counts among those who would pay more” he added.
Scholz also demanded a Germany Fund for public and private future investments. “And, of course, this also includes a reform of the debt brake for investments. So, it’s clear: it’s not about abolishing it, but about a reform” the Chancellor explained.
“But when I attend the G7 meetings of the economically strong democracies and sit down with Italy, France, Great Britain, Canada, the United States, and Japan, there is no country with less than 100 percent public debt. Germany’s debt is currently decreasing towards the 60 percent mark in relation to the economic output. There is thus room for maneuver” the Chancellor said.
Scholz also shows no willingness to compromise in the dispute over the additional three billion euros in aid for Ukraine and insists on his position. Instead, he accuses the Union, Free Democratic Party, and the Greens of unserious budget politics. Already, there is a hole in the federal budget of 2025 in the low double-digit billions, Scholz told the “Rheinische Post”.
Therefore, it belongs to honesty and truth to tell the citizens “straight wine”. “Where will the money come from for supporting Ukraine?”, Scholz asked. “Where will the additional 30 billion euros from 2028 come from, if the special account for the Bundeswehr is exhausted and we must continue to allocate two percent of our economic output for defense? My opponents unfortunately avoid this question and make reckless tax promises” the SPD politician said.
“If the question is not answered before the election, there will be a nasty awakening after the election” he warned. “We can only increase the Ukraine aid with a supplementary budget resolution; everything else would be unserious. It’s not just about the additional three billion euros in the budget” Scholz said.
“The government is exactly broken at this question – and the gap persists to this day. The next federal government will have to pass a budget for 2025 that opens up. Therefore, it would be grossly irresponsible to further enlarge the existing gap without saying where the additional money will come from – or whose burden it will be to make up for the savings” the Chancellor said.