Passed with AfD votes
Thuringia’s government is suing against controversial tax law
September 26, 2023, 1:55 p.m
In Thuringia, a tax cut passes the parliament, which the red-red-green minority government does not want. The cabinet now wants to prevent this by filing a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court. However, this is not about the AfD’s controversial support for the CDU and FDP’s project.
The red-red-green state government in Thuringia wants to sue the Constitutional Court against a reduction in property transfer tax decided with AfD votes. The cabinet agreed on this, as a government spokeswoman said. Thuringia’s Finance Minister Heike Taubert from the SPD was tasked with selecting a legal representative.
According to the information, there are legal concerns with regard to the country’s legislative competence. The state government also points out that the state parliament can only decide on additional expenditure or reduced revenue in the budget compared to the state government’s draft if coverage is guaranteed. However, this is not the case with the proposed draft law.
The vote on the real estate transfer tax in the Thuringian state parliament on September 14th caused a stir nationwide. It was the first tax cut that was passed with the help of votes from the AfD. The Thuringian AfD is classified and monitored by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in the Free State as definitely right-wing extremist. The red-red-green government does not have its own majority.
After the decision, a dispute arose over the question of whether the CDU had made prior agreements with the AfD. The Thuringian State Chancellery claimed this, the CDU denies this story. The CDU does not see the vote as a violation of the ban on cooperation with the AfD that the party has imposed on itself.
Party leader Friedrich Merz told the “Augsburger Allgemeine” yesterday that cooperation with the AfD was “unimaginable.” “The CDU would sell its soul if it worked with this party.” There was no cooperation in Thuringia either, said Merz. The Thuringian CDU first held talks with the SPD and the Greens. That didn’t help. “Then the CDU submitted a motion to the state parliament that corresponds to our convictions.” His party “does not allow one side or the other to dictate which political positions we take.”