Grüne on finance and taxes

The Greens want to pass federal money on to cities and towns without routing it through state funding programs. This is meant to eliminate burdensome application procedures and get the money to where it is needed. Federal funds are also to be drawn down consistently.

The federal government gives money to the state. The Greens want to pass this money straight to cities and towns. Today, towns often have to fill out difficult applications. That should stop. Then the money arrives faster.

According to the platform, complicated funding programs and slow decisions hold back progress. State funding programs with burdensome applications are therefore to be replaced by passing the money on directly. The platform ties this to setting clear priorities and investing in a targeted way. It names education, infrastructure, climate protection and an effective public administration.

The Greens want to use the leeway created by changes to the debt brake (the constitutional limit on borrowing) for investment in education, transportation, and environmental and climate protection. The party rejects borrowing to pay for current consumption spending. At the same time, it should become easier to see how public money is spent.

The state may now borrow more than before. The Greens want to spend this money only on the future. For example on schools, transportation and climate protection. There should be no borrowing for day-to-day spending. The state should report more often on how it spends money.

For investments paid from the federal government's special fund, a sustainability review process is to be introduced. Sustainable investment strategies are to apply to the state's financial assets, such as the pension reserve fund. In-year reporting on how budget funds are used is to be expanded for both the state parliament and the public. The platform argues that money spent wrongly today will be missing later for future tasks.

The Greens oppose selling land owned by the state. Instead, plots are to be granted under Erbbaurecht (long-term ground leases), meaning they are handed over for use for a long period in return for regular payments. This is meant to give the state predictable long-term revenue and ensure sustainable use.

The state owns land. The Greens do not want to sell this land. Others may use it for a long time and pay for it. This is called a ground lease. The state keeps its land and gets regular income.

Under a ground lease, the state remains the owner of the land while others may build on it and use it. The platform contrasts this with selling public land for short-term gain. It names as the goal that the state stays able to act in the long run.

The Greens want to pursue tax evasion and money laundering more firmly and better equip tax offices, tax investigators, prosecutors and the courts to do so. In the platform's view, tax fraud is unfair to everyone who pays honestly and takes money away from the community.

Some people do not pay their taxes honestly. Then money is missing for schools, roads and daycare. The Greens want to fight this harder. The authorities should get more staff and better technology. The state should work more closely with other authorities.

The tax administration, investigative authorities and the judiciary are to be strengthened through good pay, targeted recruitment of young staff and modern digital equipment. Cooperation with the tax authorities of other German states and the federal government is to be expanded. As an example, the platform names the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the central office for reports of suspected money laundering. The party's aim is that fraud should not pay.

The Greens want to fund towns, municipalities and counties so that they can carry out their tasks reliably and shape local policy themselves. More money is to be allocated directly instead of being tied to funding programs. When the state assigns tasks to municipalities, it should also pay for them.

The Greens want to give towns and villages more money. The money should come directly. There should be fewer complicated funding programs. When the state gives towns a new task, the state should pay for it.

The program argues that too much money is tied to complicated programs and that applications cost time and effort. It also says new tasks are handed to municipalities without enough funding. The Greens therefore want to raise the share of direct grants. Between the state and municipalities, the connexity principle is to apply in practice, meaning whoever orders a task must also pay for it.