The 10 billion euro package
Lindner promises relief for 48 million citizens
08/10/2022, 11:08 am
Finance Minister Lindner’s plans are intended to bring more money into the wallets of almost 50 million people. Allowances and child benefit are to increase, and the tax rate is also being tightened. However, only up to 62,000 euros annual salary. Lindner also says how much money each citizen saves on average.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner justified the tax cuts he was planning as a requirement of fairness. “We are in a situation where action must be taken,” said the FDP leader in Berlin. He again campaigned for compensation for the so-called cold progression, which means that the tax burden increases due to inflation, even if those affected do not have any more money in the till in real terms.
48 million people in Germany would benefit from the relief, said Lindner. An increase in the basic allowance for income tax, changes in the tax rate and increases in child benefit and child allowance are planned. For everyone whose annual income is less than 62,000 euros, the relief effect should exceed the additional burden of cold progression. On average, the relief would be 192 euros per person. Lindner spoke of a total volume of more than ten billion euros.
“waiver of burden” instead of “tax relief”
“This is not about relieving the burden, it’s about waiving the burden,” explained Lindner. He was also in favor of “strong shoulders carrying more than narrow shoulders”. The cold progression would also “burden people whose shoulders have not gotten any wider”. Lindner spoke of a “tax increase through omission”, which he wanted to avert.
The project is controversial in the traffic light coalition, the ranks of the SPD and Greens are instead calling for targeted relief for low-income people. However, Lindner warned that additional tax burdens are “not fair” in the current fragile situation and would also be “dangerous for economic development”.