Ten point program
SPD wants to stimulate the economy – no pessimism
March 16, 2024, 4:56 p.m
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Tax relief, reform of the debt brake and fair wages: The SPD wants to bring the economy back on the growth path with numerous measures. Party leader Klingbeil speaks of an offer to the FDP and the Greens.
The SPD wants to boost the sluggish economy with a ten-point plan for a “social democratic supply policy”. The party “does not want to take part in black painting,” said SPD leader Lars Klingbeil after the conclusion of the retreat. However, further steps would have to be taken to provide stimulus for the economy. The SPD does this “from the perspective of the workers who keep Germany running.”
Klingbeil said that the SPD is “also relying very much on increasing purchasing power in the middle of the country,” to which, for example, increasing the minimum wage contributes. He accused the Union of following a course in which “economic stability and social security are played off against each other.” He cited the pension demands of the CDU/CSU as an example. “The Union never comes up with anything other than attacks on the welfare state,” Klingbeil continued. At the meeting of the SPD board it “became clear that we are taking a completely different course.”
In addition to tax relief for the middle class and a reform of the debt brake for more investment, the party executive also called for a drastic reduction in bureaucracy after a closed meeting in Berlin. “We will put a lot of effort into the parliamentary process,” Klingbeil announced regarding the bureaucracy reduction law passed by the cabinet. The business associations had also criticized Justice Minister Marco Buschmann’s submission as half-hearted.
Offer to alliance partners
Klingbeil described the ten-point paper as an “offer” to the coalition partners the Greens and FDP. We will see what can still be implemented in this legislative period. The SPD wants an increase in the minimum wage, wants to support unions in the fight for better collective wages and, with the Collective Bargaining Act, wants to link public contracts to the payment of “good wages”. Affordable energy prices are also mentioned as a key point.
The industrial electricity price demanded a few months ago, which was not enforceable at the traffic lights, is not included in the paper. Instead, Klingbeil suggested the possibility of the state contributing to the infrastructure costs in the energy sector, similar to the railway expansion. “Energy networks must be counted as public services and treated as such,” says the four-page paper. The costs of expanding the network would have to be effectively limited.
Hold top earners accountable
In tax policy, the SPD emphasizes its goal of relieving the burden on 95 percent of taxpayers through income tax reform. “In order to finance this, we will make the highest income earners more responsible,” it says at the same time. Instead of across-the-board corporate tax cuts, the SPD is relying on “super depreciation and tax bonuses” for companies that invest in digitalization and climate protection in Germany.
A Germany fund is once again proposed that is intended to mobilize public and private capital for the climate-friendly and digital modernization of the economy. At the EU level, a common industrial policy and a Europe-wide basic corporate tax of 15 percent are called for in order to prevent tax dumping and tax avoidance. The SPD also wants to push forward the free trade agreements and complains about failures by the EU Commission.