SPD leadership advocates tax increases – Lindner rejects them

Finance Minister Christian Lindner has clearly rejected calls for tax increases in the course of budget deliberations for 2024. The additional wishes of the ministries for the coming year and after that could not be financed with tax increases, said the FDP leader in a Reuters interview. "It's just unrealistic."

SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert and SPD leader Saskia Esken had previously shown themselves open to tax increases. Kühnert pointed out to the broadcasters RTL and ntv on Monday that it was impossible to comply with the 2024 debt brake and to meet all spending requests. "From our point of view, this can happen by expanding the budgetary leeway, because the situation demands it at the moment," he said when asked how this problem could be solved.

"No (tax increases) were agreed in the coalition agreement, but it was also not agreed in the coalition agreement that there was a war in Europe to which we had to react and I believe that politicians must always be able to react," said Kühnert.

In the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung", Esken again expressed sympathy for the introduction of a wealth tax. "The crises of the last three years have brought many people to the brink of their economic existence, while others have been able to increase their very high fortunes even further," she said. By taxing very high assets "and also very high incomes" one could get money for investments in education.

At the same time, she put the brakes on Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD)'s wishes to further significantly increase spending for the Bundeswehr in the 2024 budget. "We have set up a special fund of 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr in order to be able to guarantee our national defense and our ability to form alliances," said Esken. This money must be used in a targeted manner. "Then we'll talk."

Criticism came from CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Mathias Middelberg. “Esken's and Kühnert's demands come at the wrong time. In the current critical situation, tax increases would be poison for restarting our economy," said the CDU politician to Reuters. Small and medium-sized companies in particular would be deprived of the funds for urgently needed investments. Jobs would be jeopardized.

The Greens initially rejected the increase in the defense budget by EUR 10 billion a year demanded by Defense Minister Pistorius. The urgently needed reform of the procurement system is not getting anywhere, criticized party leader Omid Nouripour on Monday in Berlin. Hardly any money has flowed or been planned from the 100 billion euro special fund for the Bundeswehr.

"Against this background, the question of structures is one that takes precedence," said Nouripour. “That is the debate we need to move forward in. And we don't need to have the other debates at the moment.” He had previously referred to Pistorius' initiative. However, within the traffic light coalition of the SPD, Greens and FDP, there was “very agreement” that the Bundeswehr must be better equipped.

Social justice must not get under the wheels, stressed Nouripour. Child poverty must be combated and the project of basic child security must be given priority in the budget negotiations.

According to media reports, Pistorius had requested an additional ten billion euros for the defense budget for the Bundeswehr in addition to the 100 billion euros special pot set up last year for the 2024 budget and the budgets for the following years.