BSW on finance and taxes

The BSW calls for a long-term state investment program for infrastructure that involves the municipalities. It is meant to reduce what the party sees as a large backlog in maintenance and investment.

Many roads and bridges in Brandenburg are in bad shape. So the BSW wants a big investment program. The money should go to roads, schools, housing and rail. The towns should take part.

The program is to cover mainly roads, bridges, digitalization, schools, housing construction and rail connections. The party points to damage to transport infrastructure, closures and detours. It names a lack of specialist firms as one cause, saying public contracts have been missing in recent years. Municipal investment is said to be below the levels in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The backlog in social and technical infrastructure is to be cleared.

The BSW wants the state to be allowed to borrow again for public investment. In the party's view, the Schuldenbremse (debt brake) should no longer hold back progress in the state.

The debt brake limits new government debt. The BSW wants to loosen this rule. The state should be able to borrow for investment again. This should help the state move forward.

The debt brake is the rule that tightly limits new borrowing by the federal and state governments. The platform demands that credit-financed public investment become possible again. It justifies this with the backlog in education, infrastructure, digitalization and housing.

The BSW wants to reform the Finanzausgleichsgesetz (fiscal equalization law) so that all municipalities can draw up balanced budgets. A fund is to help towns and cities buy back public service facilities they sold in the past.

Many towns in Brandenburg have too little money. The BSW wants to change the law that shares out the money. Every town should be able to get by. A fund should help towns buy back things they sold. These are hospitals or housing, for example.

The party sees the current fiscal equalization law as a major reason for the poor budget situation of many municipalities. The reform is to be worked out together with the association of towns and municipalities and the association of counties. Under budget pressure, municipalities are said to have sold land, housing and hospitals, losing influence and income. A remunicipalization fund is meant to make buybacks possible. The BSW considers the state's grant policy arbitrary; child and youth work in particular is to be funded reliably and for the long term.

The BSW wants Brandenburg to launch an initiative in the Bundesrat for a wealth tax on very large fortunes. The revenue is to benefit the states for education, hospitals and school buildings. The new property tax, by contrast, should not burden citizens more.

The BSW wants a tax on very large fortunes. It should apply to multimillionaires and billionaires. Brandenburg should propose this in the Bundesrat. The money should go to schools and hospitals. The property tax should not rise for citizens.

The party cites a study by the Netzwerk Steuergerechtigkeit (Tax Justice Network Germany). According to it, the state could collect 73 billion euros more per year if the wealth of the richest were taxed as in Switzerland. This revenue would go to the states. The platform also demands that the property tax reform bring in no more money overall than before and place no extra burden on citizens.