Coalition: Tax increases as a black and red crisis option

The future black and red coalition wants to make do without tax increases-but the option remains open for possible crisis locations. “The first goal remains that we make Germany and Europe strong and that we also have the financial means for this,” said SPD boss Lars Klingbeil to the newspapers of the Funke media group. However, he added: “In turbulent times, nothing can be ruled out in principle, otherwise you can tie up unnecessarily.” The CDU chairman and probably future Chancellor Friedrich Merz had not categorically excluded tax increases.

Klingbeil said: “The agreement is: no tax increases. But I have experienced in the traffic light coalition what it means if you have lifted yourself financially.” He always expects an openness to talk about the current situation in the coalition and about necessary and meaningful things.

Merz had recently said in the ARD: “We have a coalition agreement, and there is no tax increase in there, there will be no one.” At the same time, “you should never” never “say. We don’t know what’s going on in this world.”

“In the household there is not a fair”

Klingbeil alluded to this statement. He noted that “Friedrich Merz said publicly that tax increases cannot be excluded for all time. In this respect, it applies that we will always re -evaluate the financial situation.”

The SPD leader, who is acted as a possible finance minister, emphasized at the same time: “In the household is not a fair. We have to set priorities: the economy and focus on the hard work so that effort is worthwhile-whether in the job, in family or in integration. And allow relief for small and medium-sized incomes.”

The debate about tax increases usually deals with additional burdens for rich and wealthy, for example due to a higher inheritance tax or a wealth tax. The coalition wants to reduce the income tax for small and medium -sized incomes in the middle of the election period – but that is also not considered fixed.

Left for “fair taxation of the money nobility”

Criticism came from the opposition. Left-wing parliamentary group managing director Christian Görke accused the SPD of clearing the option of a tax increase despite a totally “overbooked” coalition agreement. “Social democracy has simply threw the goal of taxing the German money overboard to enter the new government alliance.” This would be a central plug to earn money for important investments.

CSU boss Markus Söder underlined in the “Augsburger Allgemeine” that all plans for tax increases are off the table. “Taxes down and not up, that’s the motto!” After special depreciation for companies over three years, corporate tax should be reduced. Medium and lower incomes should be relieved – including medium -sized companies that are not affected by corporation tax. That doesn’t work immediately. “To do this, we need economic growth again so that we have the money for relief.”

The taxpayers’ federal government called for small and medium -sized incomes to be significantly relieved. It does not make sense to “think about a minimum wage of 15, 16 euros if this wage comes on the one hand and on the other hand the income tax is running away this effect again,” said Association President Reiner Holznagel on Deutschlandfunk. In terms of a good austerity policy, he considers that the future federal cabinet should belong to 17 ministers as a bad example.

Permanent favorite minimum laceration increase

Klingbeil said to an increase in the minimum wage of currently 12.82 euros per hour, which was an SPD core claim in the election campaign: “A minimum wage of 15 euros will be achieved in 2026 if the minimum wage commission takes itself seriously and implemented what is in its rules of procedure.” According to the law, the committee of social partners and scientists gives recommendations to increase and is based, among other things, on the development of tariffs.

CSU boss Söder said: “The height is set by an independent commission, but the 15 euros seem to be achievable.” At the same time, the Bavarian Prime Minister pointed out other relief: “As a compensation, we agreed to my intervention that for seasonal workers in industries such as tourism or agriculture 90 instead of 70 days as previously.