BSW on finance and taxes

The BSW wants to change the debt brake so that infrastructure investment is no longer covered by it. A large investment program is to clear the repair backlog. In the program's view, the debt brake has blocked investment without preventing unsound budgets.

The debt brake limits new government debt. The BSW wants to change it. The state should be allowed to borrow for bridges, schools and rail. A big program should fix run-down structures.

Spending on bridges, roads, rail, schools, housing and networks would be exempt. The program points to the poor condition of many structures and to a lack of public contracts for the construction industry. To ensure careful use of tax money, the BSW calls for more expertise in public offices, less lobbying influence and more direct democracy. In addition, domestic demand is to be strengthened through higher wages, better statutory pensions and wider collective bargaining coverage.

The BSW wants tax relief for gross incomes up to 7,500 euros and wants very high incomes to contribute more. The basic tax-free allowance should rise considerably, and an allowance should also apply to social contributions. The program argues that work must pay off for the majority.

The BSW wants lower taxes for low and middle incomes. A larger part of wages should be tax-free. Pensions up to 2,000 euros a month should be tax-free. People with very high incomes should pay more.

The basic tax-free allowance should be aligned with the at-risk-of-poverty threshold. Statutory pensions of up to 2,000 euros a month should be tax-free if there is no other income. The top tax rate should apply only to very high incomes and spare middle incomes. For social contributions, an allowance is planned without any reduction in entitlements. It would be paid for by raising the contribution assessment ceilings, the income caps up to which contributions are charged.

The BSW wants to tax capital income at the personal income tax rate instead of a flat 25 percent. It also wants a tax on share buybacks and a financial transaction tax. The program sees labor as disadvantaged relative to capital under current tax law.

Gains from investments are taxed less than wages today. The BSW wants to tax both the same. Trading in securities should also be taxed. Companies should pay tax when they buy back their own shares.

The program notes that employees hand over about half of their income in taxes and contributions, while capital income is taxed at 25 percent. The tax on share buybacks is meant to push companies to put surplus money into their business and into innovation. The financial transaction tax would cover all trades in securities and derivatives. It is meant to slow speculative trading.

The BSW wants to remove tax advantages for real estate investors while exempting families from the property transfer tax on their first owner-occupied home. On the property tax, the party calls for a halt to additional burdens for ordinary homeowners and renters.

Families should pay no transfer tax on their first own home. This tax is due when you buy a house or land. Big investors should no longer be able to use tax tricks. The property tax should not rise further.

Gains from selling real estate are currently tax-free after a holding period of ten years. In future, this rule should apply only to owner-occupied housing. So-called share deals, in which investors avoid the property transfer tax by buying company shares instead of the land itself, are to be stopped. According to the program, the property tax reform is raising costs for millions of people even though it was supposed to be revenue-neutral.

The BSW wants to levy the wealth tax again on assets of 25 million euros or more, at rates of one to three percent. Under the inheritance tax, all assets above the allowances should be taxed equally. The program criticizes that very large inheritances currently face a lower effective rate than smaller ones.

Very rich people should pay a wealth tax. It would apply from 25 million euros in assets. Large inheritances should be taxed the same as smaller ones. Today, heirs of big companies often pay less.

The rate would start at one percent, rise to two percent from 100 million euros and to three percent from one billion euros. On inheritances, the BSW objects that an inherited single-family home is taxed more heavily than an inherited business worth hundreds of millions. Business owners should be able to convert their company into a company with tied assets. According to the program, this would avoid a drain on liquidity and secure the firm's survival even without a successor in the family.

The BSW wants to cut value-added tax on staple foods to zero and rejects a meat tax. A price watchdog and tougher antitrust law are meant to counter the market power of food corporations and retail chains.

There should be no more sales tax on important foods. For example on meat, milk, fruit and vegetables. An office should check prices. Companies that are too powerful could be broken up.

The platform considers the tax cut worthwhile only if retailers pass it on to customers. A price watchdog like Switzerland's is to expose high profit margins and step in if needed. Antitrust law is to allow dominant corporations to be broken up. In restaurants, VAT is to fall again from 19 to seven percent. The BSW names food corporations, large slaughterhouses, dairies and supermarket chains as the drivers of prices.

The BSW wants to secure cash as a means of payment and loosen existing restrictions. The party bases this on protecting privacy, because only cash payments leave no data trail.

The BSW wants cash to stay. Public offices should have to accept cash. With cash, you can buy things without leaving data behind. Rules that limit cash should be relaxed.

As a first step, the platform calls for a law requiring all public authorities to accept cash payments. The same duty would apply to companies that provide services on behalf of the public sector. At the European level, the federal government should push for looser cash rules. People who pay in cash should no longer face blanket suspicion over modest amounts.