SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch sharply criticized the Union’s recent proposal for tax reform. Speaking to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (Saturday edition), Miersch expressed skepticism regarding the concept, noting, “The plan primarily involves tax reductions for the top earners: one-third of the planned relief benefits the upper five percent”.
He also criticized the funding mechanism proposed by two CDU politicians. Calling the plan’s use of savings as counter-financing “unreliable” Miersch stated that several ministries led by the CDU are incapable of providing the agreed-upon cutbacks in personnel and administration. Consequently, he dismissed the latest Union proposals as “empty accounting entries” arguing they cannot form the basis of serious policy.
Miersch emphasized that history shows the burden of rising prices-from food to mobility-falls most heavily and massively on lower and middle income groups, especially during the COVID crisis and the energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He argued that to alleviate this pressure, the highest earners must contribute more. He assured that there is “room for maneuver” in this regard and that determining how the wealthy can contribute fairly to the common good will be “an important topic of the planned tax reform”.
For Miersch, this issue is fundamentally linked to social cohesion. He stressed that “the gap between the middle class and the very rich continues to widen. Changing this is enormously important for national cohesion” adding that even the Union cannot afford to let this gap continue to widen.