Germany: Mr Lindner rejects tax increases

Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has explicitly rejected calls for tax increases to fund additional war-related spending. “It is neither necessary to increase the tax burden, nor would it make financial sense,” Lindner wrote in an article in the Rheinische Post on Saturday.

Many are now demanding higher taxes. For example, Baden-Württemberg Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) called for a full reinstatement of the solidarity increase. “This proposal will completely hit the working class of society – in an environment where the cost of living is rising anyway,” Lindner wrote.

The tax cuts that just passed the traffic light would be collected again. One could assume that the consequence would be an increase in wage demands and, consequently, new signs of inflation.

At the request of the FDP, the ruling coalition in Germany had decided that “after the crisis we will return to the debt brake and stay away from tax increases. As Minister of Finance, I feel committed to this,” Lindner wrote.

Therefore, it financed the huge additional expenses of the state with more debt. “I do not do it easily or happily, but the situation demands it.”

Source: Capital

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