A leading figure in the German liberal party, Christian Lindner, has strongly criticized the proposal by the Green’s chancellor candidate, Robert Habeck, to increase social contributions on capital gains.
According to Lindner, Habeck’s proposal is a “taking away from the middle class in Germany”, as people already pay high taxes and contributions. “To also impose social insurance contributions on capital income is nothing but an attack on millions of savers who take responsibility for their own future”, he said in an interview with the Mediengruppe Bayern.
Lindner further argued that Habeck’s plan would also worsen the competitiveness of Germany’s economic location, making it even less attractive for private investments. “We are already not very attractive for private investments. We need to create incentives, but Habeck’s plan would further deteriorate the site’s quality”, he stated.
The FDP chief described it as “disturbing” that a “true economics minister in an actual economic crisis makes such proposals”. Instead, Lindner believes that old-age provision, asset building, and share ownership should be made more attractive for everyone.