CDU on finance and taxes

The CDU wants to use the Bundesrat (the chamber of the states) to bring back the reduced 7 percent value-added tax rate for restaurants. This ties into its goal of strengthening restaurants and retail in the city center.

The CDU wants to lower the sales tax for restaurants. It should be 7 percent again. The CDU wants to push for this in the Bundesrat. The Bundesrat represents the German states.

Value-added tax is federal law, which is why the CDU wants to act through the Bundesrat. The rate should return to 7 percent; the standard rate is 19 percent. The demand appears in the program alongside other steps to revive Hamburg's city center.

The CDU wants to cut Hamburg's real estate transfer tax from 5.5 to 3.5 percent. This is meant to relieve buyers and trigger investment. At the federal level, it wants the tax suspended for a first purchase of a home the buyer lives in.

People who buy a house or land pay a tax. In Hamburg it is 5.5 percent of the price. The CDU wants to lower it to 3.5 percent. For a first home of your own, it should later be dropped entirely.

The platform notes that the tax was raised to 5.5 percent in January 2023. The cut is meant to benefit not only home buyers but also to encourage investment in other types of use and projects. According to the CDU, taxes and fees mean the state accounts for almost 40 percent of the cost of creating a building. Suspending the tax for first-time purchases of owner-occupied homes would have to be decided at the federal level.

The CDU commits to the debt brake in Hamburg's constitution and wants to limit spending and staff growth in the administration. Investments in the future should still be possible without raising taxes for residents and businesses.

The CDU wants no new debt for Hamburg. The city should spend less money. The administration should not keep adding staff. Taxes should not go up.

According to the platform, the debt brake keeps politics from living beyond its means and burdening future generations. The CDU calls for setting priorities and critically reviewing public tasks, pointing to higher interest rates. Budgets are to be run transparently, without shifting debt into city-owned holdings. The CDU wants to consistently combat tax fraud and abuse of social benefits.

The CDU wants to stop the growth of activities and debt outside the core budget and to increase transparency. The city's stakes in companies are to be reviewed wherever there is no important state interest.

The city of Hamburg owns shares in many companies. The CDU wants to check these shares. It asks: does the city really need this company? The city budget should also become clearer. The budget is the plan for income and spending.

The platform calls for stronger risk management and open reporting on liabilities that have built up alongside the core budget. Company shareholdings are to be questioned where the required state interest is missing. The CDU wants to end the current use of lump-sum budget items, known as global additional and reduced costs. In its view, these items weaken parliament and make the budget less transparent.

The CDU wants to channel available budget funds into infrastructure and into Hamburg's strength as a place for science and business. To do so, it wants to attract more private money and make the administration more efficient.

The CDU wants to put more money into roads, buildings and research. The money should come from savings. Private investors should also take part. The administration should use fewer offices. New jobs should only be created if tasks are dropped elsewhere.

According to the platform, leeway is to come from reviewing which tasks the city performs and from shifting assets. The CDU wants to work more with private partners, that is, to use public-private partnerships. The city is to occupy less office space. Any additional staffing need must, as a rule, be offset by dropping tasks elsewhere.

The CDU wants to award public funding in a targeted way rather than spreading it widely. Large programs and investments are to get goals up front and be checked for cost-effectiveness, with a later review of whether the goals were met.

The CDU wants to hand out funding in a more targeted way. Big projects should have clear goals from the start. The city should check whether a project is worth the money. Later it should check whether the goal was reached. City building projects should also be better organized.

Goal checks are to take place during and after implementation so the city can learn for later projects. The CDU wants to review and improve how municipal building and renovation projects are organized, with stable costs and clear responsibilities. For tenant-landlord models, in which the city rents buildings from its own companies, cost-effectiveness must be clearly proven. Other ways of carrying out and financing projects are to be examined as well.