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Lamborghini in Munich's Maximilianstrasse: The SPD is in favor of a wealth tax
Photo: Andreas Gebert / picture alliance / dpa
Those who have a lot or have earned a lot should have to give more: SPD Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz wants to push through tax increases in the coming legislative period.
Higher earners and the wealthy should be affected, while relief should be given for lower and middle incomes.
"I agree with the vast majority of citizens that we have to make our tax system fairer," said the Federal Finance Minister of the Düsseldorf "Rheinische Post".
Part of fair taxation is "that those who earn a lot make a somewhat larger contribution to the financing of the community so that the lower and middle incomes can be relieved somewhat," said Scholz.
The SPD also advocates wealth tax so that the states and municipalities have more money available for infrastructure, daycare centers, schools, local public transport and the police.
Tax relief for high incomes such as the complete abolition of the solidarity surcharge demanded by the Union and FDP would be "a decision against the people," said the SPD candidate for chancellor.
The solos are only paid by 1.35 million citizens.
The resulting income of a good eleven billion euros per year could not be dispensed with.
Scholz only wants to grow out of debt in the medium term
The tax revenues of the federal and state governments have recently collapsed more than before due to the economic slump in the corona crisis.
The year-on-year decline in January was 11.1 percent. At the same time, extensive aid programs are burdening the state coffers.
In total, the federal government wants to take on almost 180 billion euros in new debt in 2021.
Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) had recently considered selling state holdings instead of higher taxes.
For Scholz, however, even higher taxes for high earners and the wealthy do not automatically mean a quick turn away from debt policy: He wants to continue the current federal financial policy with high, loan-financed spending to combat the corona crisis in 2022 and in the years thereafter.
The federal government had decided "to do everything possible to oppose the pandemic and its consequences," he said: "It is important to pound, not to mess."
Neither with future investments nor with the welfare state "we can skimp now, otherwise we will squander our country's chances," he said.
As after the financial crisis of 2008/09, however, the federal government will »grow out of debt again in the medium term«.
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