Jens Spahn, the Union faction leader of the CDU, has proposed a comprehensive cut in subsidies and tax benefits ahead of the coalition committee discussions. He emphasized that a blanket reduction of five percent is the right way to secure funding for a tax reform, which could save billions of euros, as Spahn stated in a podcast for the portal "Table.Briefings."
"I personally find myself increasingly leaning towards a blanket cut, a general reduction of all subsidies and tax benefits by five percent as the right approach," Spahn explained. He argued that such a step would likely gain higher acceptance among the public than addressing each subsidy individually.
Spahn also insisted that the relief volume of a tax reform must amount to at least ten billion euros per year. He suggested eliminating smaller funding programs in the budget, particularly those with an annual impact of less than 50 million euros. "We agreed in the coalition agreement to scrap all funding programs that are smaller than 50 million euros in annual impact," he said.
Leaders from the CDU, CSU, and SPD will meet on Tuesday afternoon for a coalition committee to discuss the next steps. This comes in the context of the Federal Council's halt of the 1000-euro relief bonus.
