The Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT) has submitted a motion for the CDU party congress that begins this Friday in Stuttgart, calling for a reform of the income tax. This was reported by the “Rheinische Post” in its Thursday edition.
Specifically, the motion demands that the entire income‑tax rate schedule be flattened-potentially in brackets, depending on the fiscal situation-and that the top tax rate of 42 percent only be applied to taxable incomes above €80,000. The current rate structure, the MIT says, is “performance‑hampering”.
The proposal also states that the working middle should be noticeably relieved through an income‑tax reform. “Benefits must again be worthwhile for both employees and entrepreneurs-where income tax effectively becomes a corporate tax” the MIT explains.
MIT chair Gitta Connemann told the newspaper that “high‑earning specialists are already being taxed”. More than 4.2 million workers are already subject to the top rate. Additionally, the income tax is said to be a middle‑class tax. “Over 70 percent of middle‑sized businesses are called upon to pay income tax month after month” Connemann said, adding that many of them also face the top rate. “If performance should once again be rewarded for responsible decision‑makers, we must align the tax brackets with today’s realities” she added.