According to Spiegel, Saxony’s Michael Kretschmer (CDU) expressed openness to higher taxation of the wealthy in an interview with the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. The CDU deputy federal chairman said he could imagine higher taxes on large fortunes and inheritances in order to relieve people with low and middle incomes.
“Strong shoulders must bear more than weak ones,” Kretschmer told the NOZ. However, he made clear that tax increases would not be at the beginning of a reform agenda for him, but at most a final component. First, an overall concept must be developed that secures Germany’s price competitiveness for the next ten years.
“To achieve such a package, we will also have to move,” Kretschmer said with a view to possible tax increases. He rejected across-the-board cuts in subsidies: “The lawnmower method is not smart politics. We have to give voters a coherent overall picture of what we want and why that is right.”
Jens Spahn’s proposal to cut all subsidies and tax breaks by five percent met with skepticism from Kretschmer. The federal government is currently negotiating the reduction of subsidies to plug budget holes and offset the tax reform planned for 2027.
Federal Finance Minister and SPD leader Lars Klingbeil reacted positively to Spahn’s idea. In the podcast “Machtwechsel” he said: “I do not want to rule out that in the end, at least in some areas, it could be the lawnmower method.” Consultations on this are underway in the government, Klingbeil said. He has already informed the Union of his openness to this approach.
Source: www.spiegel.de
