The FDP is calling for tax relief for overtime. The labor shortage is costing growth.
While unions find the proposal “crazy,” an economist suggests concrete numbers. Allowances for overtime of “around 20 euros per hour from the 41st hour of work per week” are conceivable, the economist says. However, the tax discount for overtime also entails risks. In principle, only full-time employees benefit from the model. But the social trend seems to be going in the other direction. Recently, the GDL union reached an agreement on a 35-hour week in a collective bargaining agreement with the railway company. The government also wants to motivate older workers to voluntarily work longer hours. Because not only is the labor market suffering, the German pension system is also groaning under the strain. There are fewer and fewer contributors compared to more and more pension recipients. Germany needs 1.5 million immigrants every year. It should therefore be made easier for them to gain a foothold in the German labor market in the future.