Former Hamburg CDU chairman Christoph Ploß is preparing a motion for the upcoming CDU party conference that would formally reject the SPD’s health‑plan proposal to add social‑security contributions on capital gains and rental income.
The motion is meant to steer the CDU away from a stance that the SPD has pushed forward: levying new social‑security taxes on dividends and rents. Ploß believes the idea is ill‑founded and could undermine the party’s appeal to voters.
The call for this motion follows controversy stirred last weekend by remarks from Health Minister Nina Warken. Initially, Warken’s words were taken as a sign of willingness to broaden the revenue base, but she later clarified that she was not supportive of the SPD’s plan, calling it “not goal‑oriented”. The statement sparked unease within the CDU ranks.
Ploß, a member of the Bundestag, says the CDU must give a decisive “no” to the left‑wing proposal. He argues that the idea is poorly thought out, pointing out the complications of dual contributions. For example, a person who is privately medically insured, pays capital‑gain taxes on dividends, and would also have to pay social‑security contributions on those same dividends would, in theory, accrue rights in the public health system-an arrangement he finds nonsensical.
He warns that extending social‑security contributions to rental income could trigger a sharp rise in rents. With already high housing costs in Germany’s major cities, Ploß describes such a proposal as socially disastrous.