Jens Spahn, the leader of the Union faction, has suggested a blanket cut in subsidies and tax benefits ahead of the coalition committee discussions. He argues that a five percent reduction is the right way to secure funding for a tax reform. Spahn made his comments in a podcast on the portal "Table.Briefings" and emphasized that this could save billions.
"I personally find myself increasingly leaning towards a blanket cut, a uniform reduction of all subsidies and tax benefits by five percent as the right approach," Spahn said. He believes such a step would likely gain more acceptance among the public than working through each subsidy individually.
The relief volume of a tax reform must be at least ten billion euros per year, Spahn continued. He also proposed eliminating small funding programs from the budget. "We have agreed in the coalition agreement to scrap all funding programs that have an annual impact of less than 50 million euros," he explained.
Spahn pointed out that financing the planned tax reform solely through higher taxes on high earners should not be considered. Leaders from the CDU, CSU, and SPD will meet on Tuesday afternoon for a coalition committee to discuss the next steps, especially following the halt of the 1000-euro relief bonus by the Bundesrat.
