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Prime Minister Söder in the Bavarian State Parliament (archive photo): "Tax cuts are at the heart of our tax policy"
Photo: Matthias Balk / dpa
After the power struggle for the candidacy for chancellor for the Union, CDU leader Armin Laschet and CSU leader Markus Söder demonstrated unity for a long time.
Chancellor candidate Laschet and Prime Minister Söder apparently have different views on tax policy.
»Tax cuts are at the heart of our tax policy.
This is clearly reflected in the joint election program, ”said Söder of the“ Süddeutsche Zeitung ”.
He contradicted statements by Laschet, who had spoken out against the relief.
"The basic message is: no tax relief at the moment," said the Chancellor candidate last in the ARD summer interview, "we don't have the money for that."
Söder sees it differently: "Tax relief is the basic philosophy of the Union - that is the difference to the political left: Greens want to increase taxes, we want to lower them," he said in the "Süddeutsche Zeitung".
»After the election, an opening financial statement and then priorities are set.
For the CSU, relieving the burden on small and medium-sized businesses and crafts is a top priority. "
The CSU regional group in the Bundestag is meeting from today for a two-day summer retreat in the Upper Bavarian monastery of Seeon.
In a position paper, which is to be decided there and which will then also flow into the CSU election program, the Christian Socialists demand, among other things, a doubling of the employee savings allowance and relief for single parents.
SPD: »Armin Laschet is playing around«
Söder and regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt will give keynote speeches in Seeon.
Tomorrow, Thursday, Chancellor candidate Laschet will join the exam.
In the drafts of its election manifesto, the Union had promised significant tax relief for companies and employees.
In the approved version, these have already been slimmed down and made subject to financing.
SPD general secretary Lars Klingbeil had recently accused Laschet of trying to hide his real intentions in tax policy.
"Armin Laschet is messing around," criticized Klingbeil in SPIEGEL, "he can do that best, be it with the Personalie Maassen or the tax concept of the Union."
Union confederation accuses Union of "wrong signals"
The head of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), Reiner Hoffmann, criticized the fact that the Union primarily focuses on the better-off in its tax plans.
"It is complete nonsense to want to abolish solos for top earners too," Hoffmann told the dpa news agency.
In their election manifesto, the CDU and CSU announced: "We will gradually abolish the solidarity surcharge for everyone and at the same time relieve small and medium-sized incomes from income tax."
The ten percent with the highest income must continue to pay him.
Hoffmann said: "The Union remains sufficiently vague in its election manifesto." But there are wrong signals in central places.
"The DGB is in favor of tax breaks - but for lower and middle incomes." The rich and the super-rich should contribute more to the community.
fek / dpa
