BSW on finance and taxes

The BSW wants to abolish the debt brake and boost demand through public investment. The long-term goal is full employment; in the party's view, austerity weakens the economy and infrastructure.

The debt brake limits new government debt. The BSW wants to get rid of it. The state should put more money into schools, roads and bridges. That should give firms orders and give everyone work.

Education and infrastructure are to come first. According to the program, debt taken on for investment strengthens growth, jobs and revenue over time. It also calls for clear priorities because state spending has grown sharply since 2019. The state is to launch its own investment programs, use state-owned companies and expand planning capacity. Productivity gains are to be shared fairly.

The federal and state governments are to take over municipal debt in full. Whoever assigns tasks to municipalities should also pay for them permanently.

Many cities and towns have high debts. The federal and state governments should take over these debts. Whoever gives towns new tasks should also pay for them. Then towns can build more again.

The program puts municipal debt at about 3.35 billion euros at the end of 2024 and investment needs at several billion. In the party's view, federal funds are not enough as long as municipalities cannot raise their own share. The state is also to strengthen municipal revenue sharing.

The BSW wants to clear Saxony-Anhalt's investment backlog with a large, long-term investment program. In the program's view, the debt brake in its current form blocks spending on infrastructure, education, housing and municipal facilities.

The BSW wants the state to invest a lot of money. The money should go to roads, schools, housing and networks. The party says the debt brake stands in the way. The debt brake is a rule that limits new government debt.

The program calls for a large and lasting investment program, arguing that the current debt brake prevents spending on the future. Every euro spent should serve the common good. Services such as health care, water, housing and mobility should not be subject to profit-seeking. The BSW also demands that tax money be used efficiently and transparently. Cases of poor planning and waste identified by the state audit office are to be reviewed.

The BSW wants to tax high incomes and large fortunes more heavily and bring back the wealth tax. Incomes below 2,000 euros are to be tax-free, and the inheritance and gift tax is to be reformed.

Very rich people should pay more taxes. The BSW wants a tax on large fortunes. People earning under 2,000 euros should pay no income tax. Large inheritances should also be taxed more.

The wealth tax is to be one percent from 25 million euros, two percent from 100 million and three percent from one billion. On the inheritance and gift tax, the program criticizes exemptions that it says often tax large fortunes less than small inheritances. Tax loopholes for international corporations are to be closed. Since this is a federal matter, the state government is to push for it in the Bundesrat and in alliances of states. The program notes that far less is inherited in Saxony-Anhalt than in western Germany.

The BSW wants to reorganize how municipalities are funded: reliable base funding instead of many grant programs, and a larger share of tax revenue. Municipalities should be able to decide for themselves what they spend money on.

Many cities and towns have too little money. The BSW wants to give them more money on a lasting basis. They should decide themselves how to spend it. Whoever gives them new tasks should also pay for them.

The program calls for enforcing the principle "whoever orders, pays": new mandatory tasks are to be handed over only with compensation from the state and federal governments. Financial relations between the levels of government are to be reformed, and municipal umbrella associations are to be involved on a binding basis in laws with cost consequences. The permanent base funding for investment is also to be open to indebted municipalities. In addition, the BSW wants a reform of the municipal charges law, less bureaucracy, uniform software and a more service-oriented state administration office.