SPD on finance and taxes

The SPD wants to be able to amend the Saxon constitution, specifically regarding the debt brake and direct democracy. It regards the current provisions as outdated.

The SPD wants to change the constitution of Saxony. This is about the debt brake. The debt brake limits how much money the state may borrow. It is also about referendums. The SPD thinks the rules on these are outdated.

The platform names the debt brake and direct democracy as examples of constitutional provisions that should be revised. Elsewhere the SPD calls for more citizen participation, for example through citizens' assemblies, participatory budgets, referendums and local ballot measures. The results of such processes are to be used and, where possible, implemented.

The SPD supports introducing the Kindergrundsicherung (basic child allowance) at the federal level and wants to develop it further. It also calls for abolishing Ehegattensplitting (joint tax splitting for married couples) in favor of a tax policy geared to children and families.

All children should have the same chances. The SPD backs the federal basic child allowance. That is a cash benefit for children. The tax break for married couples should end. Families with children should do better on taxes instead.

Ehegattensplitting is the joint taxation of married couples, which mainly benefits couples with unequal incomes. The SPD bases its demands on the goal of equal opportunities for all children. In the platform's view, child poverty can only be overcome through fair redistribution.

The SPD wants the Schuldenbremse (constitutional debt brake) reviewed in order to allow more investment. A cross-party commission of federal, state and local governments is to draft a proposal.

The SPD wants to review the debt brake. The debt brake limits how much the state may borrow. The SPD wants more money for investments in the future. A commission should make a proposal.

For the SPD, sustainable fiscal policy means not only shielding future generations from interest and repayment burdens but also securing future economic output through investment. In the platform's view, investments in the future are only possible with a change. The party also wants to allow more long-term funding contracts and points to the flexibility of Saxony's two-year budgets.

The SPD wants to loosen the debt brake in the Saxon constitution and make it more flexible. In the platform's view, the repayment periods are too short and the rules for cyclical borrowing too strict. Only a reform, it argues, can keep Saxony competitive as a location.

The debt brake limits new state debt. The SPD thinks the rule in Saxony is too strict. The state should be able to borrow more when the economy is weak. It should be allowed to pay back debt more slowly. The exact rules should be in an ordinary law.

The platform points to the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, during which it says the rules proved unworkable. As in most states, the details would sit in ordinary budget law rather than in the constitution. The SPD wants clear rules for borrowing to boost economic capacity and would use a cyclical adjustment account for this. The calculation of the so-called normal situation, which determines cyclical borrowing, would be corrected. Provision for civil servants' pensions stays in the constitution, but the fund's contribution and investment strategy would be adjusted.

The SPD wants to change how money is distributed between the state and local governments so that all towns, cities and counties have enough room to make their own decisions. Larger investments are to become possible without borrowing.

Towns and cities get money from the state. The SPD wants to change how this is shared. All local governments should have enough money for their own decisions. They should be able to pay for big projects without debt.

The reform is meant to benefit counties above all, as well as mid-sized and larger regional centers outside the Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz areas. Local governments are to be allowed to draw part of their investment allocations in advance. The platform links this to the goal of equivalent living conditions in all regions of Saxony.

The SPD advocates a simple inheritance tax levied as a federal tax and wants to scrap tax advantages for the very wealthy. The revenue is to fund a basic inheritance of 60,000 euros that young people receive at age 18.

The SPD wants to change the tax on inheritances. Very rich people should no longer get tax advantages. The money should pay for a basic inheritance for young people. That is 60,000 euros on their 18th birthday.

The inheritance tax is to have a clear structure and go to the federal government. Tax privileges and loopholes for the very wealthy are to be eliminated. The SPD argues that large social inequality weakens cohesion and that wealth piled up over generations distorts children's starting chances.