CSU politician Florian Dorn rejected the criticism put forth by the SPD regarding his tax concept, defending the planned tax relief measures’ applicability to higher incomes. Speaking to the business magazine “Capital” on Wednesday, Dorn argued that the opposition’s view fundamentally misunderstands where the working middle class begins and ends. He asserted, “If we want to relieve the burden on the broad working middle class, we must therefore include higher incomes, which are often currently considered to be for the ‘better earners.'”
According to Dorn, the middle class extends significantly higher than generally assumed, sometimes reaching as high as the top five percent of earners, depending on the definition used. Furthermore, he pointed out that the top ten percent of earners contribute almost 60 percent of the overall tax revenue.
Regarding changes for the wealthiest segment, Dorn also stated that the tax rate on high incomes should be slightly increased and should become effective at a lower threshold. He suggested that instead of the current taxable income threshold of approximately 278,000 Euros, the higher rate should take effect starting from 210,000 Euros.