During a debate concerning income tax reform, Fritz Güntzler, the financial policy spokesperson for the CDU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, argued that reaching a consensus requires a willingness to compromise. Speaking to the news portal “T-Online” on Wednesday, Güntzler stated that “if one flattens the tax scale overall and rewards performance more strongly, one must also be open to compromises”. This followed a revelation from Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), who recently showed openness to slightly increasing taxes on the wealthy.
Güntzler agreed with the chancellor’s assessment, affirming that the system must be fundamentally reorganized. He emphasized that the CDU’s primary goal for the reform must be delivering tangible relief to the broad middle class, which has been unduly burdened in recent years. He concluded that the current debate highlights a clear necessity: comprehensive and definitive reform of the income tax scale, rather than just isolated discussions about specific percentage adjustments.