With his delaying tactics, Lindner exposes himself to the accusation of political arbitrariness.
(Photo: dpa)
The high inflation burdens the citizens doubly and threefold. Not enough that energy, fuel and food prices are skyrocketing. In addition, the Treasury collects from citizens through inflation-related tax increases. As a result, an average earner family faces additional costs of more than 500 euros per year.
The topic is a through ball for Christian Lindner. But the liberal Federal Minister of Finance is rabbit-footed. Instead of making it clear that inflation-driven tax increases would of course be fully offset by adjusting the tax rates, Lindner initially talked himself out of it with administrative procedures.
First, the finance minister wants to wait for a government report in the fall, which estimates future price developments, and then make a decision. But with this delaying tactic, Lindner exposes himself to accusations of political arbitrariness.
Even the grand coalition, under a social-democrat finance minister, has always compensated for creeping tax increases. If, of all things, a liberal treasurer fell behind this policy, it would look pretty funny. Especially since the FDP has always drummed the loudest and quite rightly for the compensation of creeping tax increases.
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Compensation in times of high inflation is much more expensive for the tax authorities than when price inflation is weak. Also inhibit Lindner coalition constraints. The traffic light was not able to come to an agreement on the topic in the coalition negotiations, so a balance is a matter of negotiation in everyday government life – which is very accommodating for the SPD and the Greens.
requirement of fiscal fairness
They would be only too happy to use the additional income to finance their social projects, and they have long wished for tax increases. If these creep in through the inflation back door, the citizens cannot really understand the increases and therefore do not resent them, all the better.
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But creeping tax hikes in times of high inflation rates are glaringly unfair. They also thwart their own government actions. What sense do relief packages make if most of them are eaten up again by higher taxes? And a settlement does not fail because of the money: Tax revenues are rising sharply due to inflation.
Reimbursing the citizens of this inflation-related additional revenue is a requirement of fiscal fairness. Oddly enough, after Lindner left the topic before the NRW elections, he should hit the ground running and now promise full compensation for creeping tax increases so as not to let the topic air in the first place. He doesn’t have to wait for mundane government reports to take this for granted.
More: These tax increases threaten the citizens through the cold progression