Reaction to SPD leader Klingbeil
FDP rejects tax increases
December 3, 2023, 5:26 a.m
To plug gaps in the budget, the government could cut spending or increase revenue. While SPD leader Klingbeil is flirting with tax increases, the FDP is rejecting it. On the contrary, the middle class needs to be given greater relief, says FDP Vice President Vogel.
During the budget crisis, the FDP rejected tax increases. The deputy FDP chairman Johannes Vogel said: “Tax increases are not only rightly excluded in the coalition agreement, they would also be exactly wrong for our competitiveness – because Germany is already a high-tax country. Instead, we have to provide greater relief for the middle class and companies, as agreed.” After the Karlsruhe budget verdict, SPD leader Lars Klingbeil questioned agreements made in the coalition agreement. The waiver of tax increases advocated by the SPD, Greens and FDP is under review, said Klingbeil.
The traffic light coalition is wrestling with how much money the federal government can spend on in the coming year. The Karlsruhe ruling has left billions in gaps in both the 2024 budget and a fund for modernizing the economy and climate protection.
“Emergency situation for 2024 is not legally possible”
Vogel, First Parliamentary Managing Director of the FDP parliamentary group, also spoke out against suspending the debt brake again next year due to an emergency – as many in the SPD are calling for. Vogel said that this does not appear to be legally possible, at least according to the Federal Constitutional Court’s statements.
“But it would also be politically wrong – just like a fundamental weakening of the debt brake, as the majority of the Union Prime Ministers want. The debt brake has just been strengthened by the ruling from Karlsruhe.” Weakening the debt brake or increasing taxes in response to the ruling is out of the question for the Free Democrats. Vogel emphasized: “The state does not have a revenue problem, but it must now prioritize more clearly, realize the need for reform and use the resources at its disposal accurately. We must and can save money and make more effective policies with less money.”