Finance Minister Lindner calls it a “recruitment bonus”: top talent from abroad should receive tax incentives to lure them to Germany. But the economy is skeptical.
Employers’ President Rainer Dulger rejects the tax incentives planned by the federal government for foreign top talent. Dulger told the German Press Agency: “The proposal contradicts tax justice and sends the wrong domestic political signal. It is also likely to lead to unrest in industrial peace in many places. It applies to all employees: more net from gross for everyone. Then it will be attractive again for foreign skilled workers.”
Government wants to attract top talent
As part of its “growth initiative”, the government plans to introduce tax incentives for taking up work in Germany – to make Germany more attractive for foreign skilled workers. The plan is for newly immigrated skilled workers to be able to exempt 30, 20 and 10 percent of their gross wages from tax in the first three years. A lower and upper limit for the gross wage is to be defined for this exemption.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) had said that the tax incentives should apply to “top talent” from abroad, who could receive a tax “recruitment bonus”. Lindner also said that the federal government had noticed that the proposal had been received cautiously by employers. “That is why we will first seek dialogue. Because we will not introduce anything that is not actively used by employers.” The skilled trades sector had already expressed criticism of the planned tax incentives.
DIHK also cautious
Peter Adrian, President of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, was also cautious: “It is right to think about how to make the influx of foreign skilled workers more attractive,” he told the dpa. “It was to be expected that a tax break would immediately lead to a discussion about unequal treatment with colleagues in Germany.”
Dulger, President of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, said of the planned tax incentives that Germany is currently a high-tax country. “We have complicated language. When people come to this country, they don’t get childcare, they can’t find housing. These are the problems we have to work on. We are not really convinced by the proposal.”
Industry: Tool for recruiting specialists
Industry President Siegfried Russwurm told the dpa about the tax incentives, saying that in other European countries this is a specific means of specifically recruiting certain specialists from abroad. “Typically, it is about individuals who the companies name to the authorities. Using the instrument on a broad scale would not be my approach,” emphasized Russwurm.
“This immediately raises questions about equal treatment. In order to attract skilled workers from abroad on a broad scale, other measures would be more important: for example, quickly deciding on the recognition of foreign degrees and qualifications and simplifying and accelerating the procedures for labor migration overall.”
Source: Stern
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