Pensioners in the East have to pay more taxes than their West German peers with similarly high salaries. Left-wing MP Sören Pellmann is calling for an adjustment.
Pensioners with a so-called standard pension who retired before 2023 pay higher taxes on their retirement benefits. East Germans who retired in 2020 pay 542 euros in taxes annually on such a standard pension, while in the West they pay 524. The background for the different tax burdens is complicated, according to the German Press Agency (DPA) and the Federal Ministry of Finance (FK). The DPA says the tax burden in retirement depends on many factors. One of them is where to retire. Because there is a discrepancy between the East and West, the DPA asks the FK to explain the reason for the tax discrepancy. The FK says the reason is because of the fact that the East has a higher percentage of pensioners than the West. The DBA also asks the government to explain why the tax difference between the East and the West is so large.