According to SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch, notable relief for lower incomes is necessary. To achieve this, he suggests raising the wealth tax and the top income tax rate. Miersch stated this on Sunday to ARD and did not commit to a specific amount for the planned relief measures. The SPD politician emphasized that the help needed “must be noticeable” and “cannot just be about 50 euros”.
Miersch pointed out that lower and middle-income earners, in particular, have been disproportionately burdened since the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, he expressed skepticism about whether raising the VAT (value-added tax) to finance such reforms would be the correct approach, arguing that this would hit low earners once again.
Addressing proposals from CDU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn, such as a blanket reduction in subsidies, Miersch acknowledged it as a possible course of action. However, he argued that such cuts would also negatively affect the funding for social housing and research. In his view, the approach “has the problem that it also touches upon elemental areas that might be very important” according to the SPD politician.