The CDU’s resolution at its party congress to ease the tax burden on high earners has sparked caution from the coalition partner SPD. Wiebke Esdar, spokeswoman for the SPD faction in the Bundestag, told the Welt that the governing black‑red coalition has pledged to tackle the upcoming fiscal challenges together, including the large budget gap that must be closed. Esdar warned that any proposals entering public debate should always be accompanied by a clear counter‑financing plan, lest the burden fall on taxpayers.
Under the CDU proposal, the statutory top income‑tax rate would no longer apply to earnings above €68 000 – the current threshold – but would be postponed until a yearly salary of €80 000. Kay Gottschalk, a finance expert from the AfD, endorsed the move, arguing that “today a skilled worker already pays the top tax rate at 1.3 times the average wage, which is demotivating”. He added that the proposal would also relieve entrepreneurs who operate as partnership entities, but considered the plan “piecemeal”. Gottschalk called for a comprehensive reform: a flat tax of 25 % on income, a higher basic exemption of €15 000 and an exemption of €12 000 for children, and the complete abolition of the solidarity surcharge.
The Green parliamentary vice‑spokesperson, Andreas Audretsch, struck the CDU down hard. He said the party had “insulted the working population for months” and that its tax cuts “offer almost nothing to nurses, bus drivers or shopkeepers”. Audretsch noted that of the roughly €10 billion in revenue the state would lose, about two‑thirds would benefit the richest ten per cent, while the bottom 70 per cent would receive a “laughable” 6 per cent of the total relief. He concluded that “this is politics against the people of the country”.
Janine Wissler, the economic spokeswoman for the Left faction, described the CDU plan as inadequate. She agreed that flattening the “middle‑class waistline” and mitigating the cold progression was a correct goal, but criticised the focus on the top tax rate. Wissler pointed to DIW findings that the top 10 per cent would receive around €5.6 billion from the overall tax cut package, whereas the broader 70 per cent would see only a marginal benefit. She characterised the scheme as an “upward redistribution” and classic CDU clientelistic policy favouring high earners.
