The spouse splitting is criticized, also because it creates problematic incentives.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The industrialized nations organization OECD sees a suitable recipe against the shortage of skilled workers in a reform of the controversial spouse splitting. “In an international comparison, the incentives for second earners to work more in Germany are low, also because of the spouse splitting,” said the head of the OECD Berlin Center, Nicola Brandt, on Thursday to the Reuters news agency.
Experience with the abolition in Sweden in the early 1970s and model studies by German economic research institutes showed that a reform could significantly increase full-time employment among women
“This means that a reform could be an effective means of combating the shortage of skilled workers and at the same time serve gender equality in paid and unpaid work,” said Brandt. “This is particularly true if this goes hand in hand with a further expansion of high-quality childcare, or an extension of the paternity months for parental allowance.”
The expert from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) added that there are several concepts that provide for additional tax burdens in the case of a reform of spouse splitting only for high-income households.
“The current system encourages second earners to work part-time or limit their earnings,” said Isabell Koske, deputy director of the OECD’s economics department. In order to motivate women to work more and thus counteract the increasing shortage of skilled workers, a reform of the current common taxation rules is “of crucial importance”.
It could have a significant impact on labor supply while generating additional tax revenue. “Additional income from the reform could be used to further improve access to quality childcare and early childhood education,” said Koske. That would help to increase the supply of female workers.
Dispute between the Greens and the FDP
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil had brought the abolition of spouse splitting into play for newly concluded marriages. This is especially helpful for couples where one earns a lot and the other doesn’t work much or doesn’t work at all. In practice, this often prevents women from returning to work full-time after a family-related break.
The Greens are open to Klingbeil’s proposal, but the FDP is clearly against it. The liberals sense some form of tax increases, which are excluded in the coalition agreement of the traffic light parties. “The abolition of spouse splitting would simply be a tax increase for many couples,” tweeted the parliamentary state secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Florian Toncar (FDP), recently.
More: Why the traffic light does not dare to reform marriage splitting