The Economic Council of the CDU is tightening its pressure on the federal government and has issued a call for an “Agenda for employees”. The business association, which represents more than 13,000 members, outlines major tax cuts and a reduction in social contributions by eliminating certain benefits, according to a report in “Bild am Sonntag”.
General‑Secretary Wolfgang Steiger told the newspaper that the more than three million unemployed people send a clear signal that the government must now do everything possible to restore the promise of upward mobility and unleash growth drivers.
In its agenda, the Council proposes several measures to lower the tax burden: a noticeable raise of the basic tax exemption, a delay in the application of the top tax rate, an automatic inflation adjustment for income tax, the abolition of the solidarity surcharge even for high earners, and a reduction of the corporate tax rate to 25 percent.
To prevent a further increase in social contributions, the government is urged to remove a number of existing benefits. Unemployment benefit would be limited to a maximum of one year. The Council also calls for the elimination of special pension privileges for certain groups-including the maternity pension, the “pension at 63” and the basic pension. The retirement age would be tied to life expectancy and raised above the currently approved 67 years.
In statutory health insurance, the catalogue of benefits would be reviewed and dental treatments could be removed. The Council argues, “Various benefits, such as dental care, can generally be well covered privately and should no longer be borne by contributors under the pay‑as‑you‑go system”. Accident insurance would no longer cover accidents that occur on the way to and from work.
Additional proposals include a reduction of energy costs for all citizens, a facilitation of home purchases-e.g., by eliminating purchase tax-and a general cut in bureaucracy.
Steiger criticises the SPD for having “morphed into a party for the interests of transfer recipients” and for “losing its support of workers and employees in a frightening degree”. He warns that the CDU would be at risk “if it continues to carry the SPD’s ideas as strongly as it has so far”. An “overwhelming tax and contribution burden” would, according to the Council, erode opportunities for the hardworking middle class and would need to be countered with an agenda that rewards performance and renews the promise of upward mobility.
