What do the parties say on finance and taxes?

The AfD wants tax relief for citizens and businesses. The basic tax-free allowance would rise sharply, corporate taxes would fall, and the solidarity surcharge would end for everyone. The aim is higher take-home pay and more financial leeway.

The AfD wants lower taxes. More of a person's income should be tax-free. Companies should pay less tax. The solidarity surcharge should end for everyone. People who save privately for old age should get bigger tax breaks.

The AfD wants to keep the Schuldenbremse (the constitutional debt brake) unchanged and balance the federal budget through savings. In its view, Germany has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. It wants cuts to climate spending, projects abroad, EU contributions, grants to NGOs and the government's public relations work, among other things.

The debt brake limits new government debt. The AfD does not want to loosen it. Instead, the government should spend less money. For example, the AfD wants to pay less to the EU. There should also be less money for climate protection and projects abroad.

The AfD wants to greatly simplify tax law by introducing an income tax schedule with only a few brackets. Tax rates would fall, and in return write-off options for tax-saving schemes would be reduced. Businesses would be taxed the same regardless of their legal form.

The AfD thinks German tax law is too complicated. It wants to make it simpler. Income tax should have only a few brackets. Tax rates should go down. In return, there should be fewer ways to save on taxes.

The AfD wants a uniform value-added tax rate of 7 percent for restaurants and bars again. It argues that the return to 19 percent at the start of 2024 pushed prices up and forced restaurants to close.

The AfD wants to lower the sales tax in restaurants. It should be only 7 percent. Today it is 19 percent. The AfD says eating out has become too expensive. Many restaurants had to close because of this.

The AfD wants to raise the basic income tax allowance to €15,000 and tie allowances to an index. This is meant to relieve low earners and the middle class and keep a gap between wages and welfare benefits.

The AfD wants to raise the basic tax-free allowance. That is the part of your income you pay no tax on. It should be €15,000 a year. It should rise with prices automatically in the future. The AfD says work should pay off more.

The AfD wants to scrap the Grundsteuer (property tax) entirely. Cities and towns would be compensated through surcharges on income tax and corporate tax. The platform calls the property tax complicated, costly to administer, and unfair.

The AfD wants to end the property tax. This is a tax on land and buildings. Towns get this money today. They would get a share of other taxes instead. The AfD says renters would also pay less.

The AfD wants to scrap the inheritance tax and permanently abolish the wealth tax, which is currently not collected. In its view, both taxes hit assets that were already taxed once and bring in little revenue for a lot of effort.

The AfD wants to end two taxes. One is the tax on inheritances. The other is the tax on wealth. The state does not collect that one right now. The AfD says this money was already taxed once.

The AfD wants to raise the tax-free amount for investment income from €1,000 for single people to €6,672 and tie it to the mini-job earnings limit. This is meant to help the middle class in particular build wealth and private retirement savings.

The AfD wants to raise the savers' allowance. Up to this amount, interest and investment gains are tax-free. Today it is €1,000 a year. The AfD wants €6,672. This should make it easier to save for old age.

The AfD wants the Bundesbank to move all gold reserves held abroad to Germany and demands a special balance-sheet status for the gold, secured in the constitution. In the long run, it aims for currency competition or a gold-backed currency.

Germany owns a lot of gold. Part of it is stored in other countries. The AfD wants to bring all of it to Germany. The gold should get special protection. Later, gold should back the value of money.

The AfD wants the Bundesbank's Target-2 claims in the eurozone payment system to be reduced first and later settled daily. Until then, they should be backed by collateral. The party sees the balances as a risk worth billions for German taxpayers.

Target-2 is a payment system of the euro countries. Germany's central bank has large open claims there. The AfD sees a risk for taxpayers. The claims should shrink. Later, countries should settle them every day.

The AfD wants to secure cash permanently as legal tender and write its use into the Grundgesetz (Basic Law) as a civil liberty. It justifies this with protection against surveillance, negative interest rates and expropriation. Public authorities should not be allowed to refuse cash payments.

The AfD wants to protect cash. This should be written into the constitution. Everyone should always be able to pay with bills and coins. Government offices should have to accept cash too. The AfD says that without cash, the state can see all payments.

The AfD wants to largely free Bitcoin, its wallets and its trading venues from regulation. Current tax rules for Bitcoin and the right to hold coins oneself should stay in place. The party sees Bitcoin as state-free money in a competition among currencies.

Bitcoin is digital money without a state behind it. The AfD likes that. It wants far fewer rules for Bitcoin. The tax rules for Bitcoin should stay as they are. Everyone should be allowed to store their own Bitcoins.

The AfD wants to introduce family income splitting, raise the child tax allowance and cut VAT on children's goods to 7 percent. It adds a loan for young married couples and easier terms for students with a child. The relief is aimed mainly at middle-income families.

Families should pay less tax. Things for children should carry only 7 percent sales tax. Young couples should get a loan for their first household items. With each child they pay back less. Students with a child should get help too.

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.

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 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 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.

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 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 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.

The CDU and the CSU want to lower income tax in several steps. The rate curve is to become flatter, the basic tax-free allowance is to rise, and the top rate is to apply only at a considerably higher income. The platform argues that the burden of taxes and contributions is too high.

The CDU and the CSU want to lower the tax on income. More income should stay tax-free. The highest tax rate should start later. Commuters should also pay less tax. Extra pay for overtime should be tax-free.

The CDU and the CSU want to gradually lower the tax on retained business profits to no more than 25 percent. Better rules for losses and depreciation come on top. In the platform's view, Germany is a high-tax country and must become competitive on its tax burden.

The CDU and the CSU want to lower taxes for companies. Profits that stay in the company should be taxed at 25 percent at most. Companies should be able to count losses and purchases better against tax. Family companies should be spared when they are inherited.

The CDU and the CSU want to abolish the remaining solidarity surcharge entirely. In their view it has served its purpose and can no longer be justified almost 35 years after reunification.

The CDU and the CSU want to end the solidarity surcharge completely. This is an extra tax. Today companies, people with high incomes and savers still pay it. The parties say: this tax has done its job.

The CDU and the CSU want to cut the sales tax on food served in restaurants to seven percent. The measure is one of the steps by which the parties want to reduce the tax burden on business.

The CDU and the CSU want a lower tax on meals in restaurants. The sales tax there should be 7 percent. This should help restaurants.

The CDU and the CSU want to make tax law simpler, strike rules and digitize procedures. Retirees are generally no longer to have to file a tax return. The platform sees tax bureaucracy as a heavy burden on citizens and companies.

The CDU and the CSU want simpler tax rules. Retirees should mostly not have to file a tax return anymore. There should be more flat amounts instead of single receipts. Companies should keep receipts for only 5 years.

The CDU and the CSU want to ease the tax burden on buying and inheriting owner-occupied homes. They reject a wealth tax because they do not want to burden people who have built something up.

The CDU and the CSU want more families to own a home. The first purchase should be taxed less. Inheriting a home should also be taxed less. The parties do not want a tax on wealth.

The CDU and the CSU want to make it easier for employees, especially those with low and middle incomes, to build wealth. A new bonus, higher tax allowances, and more attractive stakes in one's own company are meant to serve that goal.

The CDU and the CSU want workers to be able to save more easily. There should be a new bonus from the government for this. It mainly helps people with low pay. People who get shares in their company should pay less tax.

The CDU and the CSU want to leave the constitutional debt brake unchanged. They justify this with fairness between generations. At the start of the legislative term, all federal spending is to be reviewed, especially subsidies.

The CDU and the CSU want to keep the debt brake. This is a rule in the constitution. It allows the state only a little new debt. The parties want to check all spending. Spending without benefit should end.

The CDU and the CSU want to preserve cash so that everyone can choose how to pay in everyday life. They support a digital euro only under certain conditions. They are open in principle to new payment methods.

The CDU and the CSU want to keep cash. Everyone should decide how to pay. The parties accept a digital euro only under conditions. It should not replace cash.

The FDP wants to restructure income tax so that extra work pays off more. The rate schedule would rise evenly, the top rate would apply only at much higher incomes, and the solidarity surcharge would be abolished entirely.

The FDP wants people to pay less tax on their wages. The highest tax rate should start only at 96,600 euros a year. The solidarity surcharge should end. Work should pay off more.

The FDP wants to bring the corporate tax burden below 25 percent and replace the trade tax (Gewerbesteuer) with a different model. Small and medium-sized firms and restaurants would get additional relief. The program cites international competition as the reason.

Companies should pay less tax. The tax burden should fall below 25 percent. The trade tax should be replaced by another solution. Food in restaurants should be taxed at only 7 percent.

The FDP wants a more digital tax administration and a largely automated tax return for many people. It also wants tougher action against tax fraud, financial crime and undeclared work.

The tax return should become easier. The tax office should fill it in ahead of time for many people. Citizens should have to give their data only once. The FDP also wants to do more against tax fraud.

The FDP wants to ease taxes on private wealth-building through stocks and channel more private capital into start-ups. Its stated aim is to turn Germany from a country of savers into one of shareholders.

The FDP wants more people to put money into stocks. Gains from stocks should be taxed less. Students should learn more about money. Young companies should get money from investors more easily.

The FDP wants financial market regulation to focus more on competitiveness and is critical of a common European deposit insurance scheme. It sees a threat to the protection schemes of savings banks and cooperative banks.

The FDP wants to check and simplify rules for banks. It is critical of a shared European protection for savings. It fears harm for savings banks and cooperative banks. The supervisor should also promote the financial center.

The FDP welcomes cryptocurrencies and wants crypto ETFs to be permitted. At the same time it wants to keep cash and accept a digital euro only as a voluntary supplement that protects privacy.

The FDP likes digital money such as Bitcoin. Central banks should be allowed to hold Bitcoin as a reserve. Cash should stay. Nobody should be forced to use the digital euro.

The FDP wants the federal government and the states to comply with the constitutional debt brake, citing fairness between generations. It strictly rejects giving the EU the power to take on debt.

The FDP wants the state to take on little new debt. The debt brake in the constitution should stay in force. Otherwise children will have to pay the debts later. The EU should not take on debt of its own either.

The Free Voters want to merge the differing VAT rates of 19 and 7 percent into the lower rate. For food and drinks in restaurants, the tax would be cut permanently.

Today there are two tax rates on food: 19 percent and 7 percent. The Free Voters want only the lower rate. This should also apply to drinks in restaurants. The party wants to help restaurants and tourism this way.

The Free Voters want to roll back requirements imposed on small and mid-sized banks since 2008. They reject the European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS) for savings banks and cooperative banks.

Savings banks and cooperative banks have gotten many new rules since 2008. The Free Voters want to take these rules back. The EU plans a shared safety net for savings, called EDIS. The party rejects this for these banks.

The Free Voters want to keep the debt brake in the constitution and reject loosening it or using off-budget funds. For a few especially important projects, however, there should be an investment clause. This is meant to keep budget rules from blocking the country's modernization.

The debt brake limits new government debt. The Free Voters want to keep this rule. There should be an exception for a few very important projects. The state could set up a separate fund for them.

The Free Voters want to fundamentally reorganize how cities and towns are funded and reduce their legacy debts. The federal government should contribute. The platform attributes the situation to decades of underfunding.

Many cities and towns have too little money. The Free Voters want to change that. The old debts of towns should shrink. The federal government should help with this.

The Free Voters want income tax to start only at 24,000 euros a year instead of the current 11,784 euros. This is meant to make work pay more and widen the gap to people receiving benefits. Retirees and pensioners should also be allowed to earn 2,000 euros a month tax-free on top.

Today people pay income tax from about 11,800 euros a year. The Free Voters want to raise this limit to 24,000 euros. That is 2,000 euros a month without tax. This should make work pay more.

The Free Voters call for a fundamental reform of subsidies, which should be targeted and time-limited. Climate-damaging subsidies should be phased out. The party also wants to do more against wasteful spending and tax evasion.

Subsidies are government money for certain areas. The Free Voters want to check all subsidies regularly. Aid that harms the climate should end. The state should go after tax fraud more strongly.

The Free Voters want to abolish the tax on inheritances and gifts. This is meant to protect family businesses and property built up over generations. In the party's view, working and saving should not be penalized.

Today people who inherit a lot or get large gifts pay tax on it. The Free Voters want to abolish these taxes. The party wants to protect family companies this way. Savings should stay in the family.

The Greens want to make sustainable financing easier and the rules for it more consistent and simpler. Government investments would follow sustainability criteria and the Paris climate goals. In the platform's view, sustainable finance makes fossil investments uneconomical and future technologies cheaper.

The Greens want more money to flow into green projects. The state should invest its own money only in climate-friendly ways. The rules for this should become simpler. Companies should not be allowed to falsely call products green.

The Greens want better protection for consumers in financial matters, especially small investors. The financial regulator BaFin is to focus more on consumer protection and sustainability, and the cost of payments is to come down.

The Greens want to protect people better in money matters. The finance regulator should look out more for customers. Advice about money should be fair and independent. Very high interest rates should get a limit.

The Greens want to set up a Deutschlandfonds (Germany Fund) for the federal government, states, and municipalities to catch up on infrastructure investment. The platform describes the balanced-budget policy known as the 'schwarze Null' as a burden on the country's future viability.

The Greens want to create a Germany Fund. A fund is a large pot of money. The state should use the money to build rail lines and fix schools. Research and companies should also get money.

The Greens want to change the Schuldenbremse (debt brake) so that the state may borrow as much as it invests. In the platform's view, the current rule blocks investment and measures that would revive the economy.

The Greens want to change the debt brake. The debt brake limits how much debt the state may take on. The state should be allowed to borrow more for investments. But the debt should stay manageable.

The Greens want to set clearer priorities in the budget and align it with measurable goals. Tax loopholes are to be closed, and subsidies that harm the climate and environment are to be phased out in a socially balanced way.

The Greens want the state to spend its money in a more targeted way. Gaps in tax law should be closed. The state should stop paying for things that harm the climate. This should happen in a socially fair way.

The Greens want to gradually remove state benefits for behavior that harms the climate and the environment. The money freed up is to go to social compensation and to climate and environmental protection.

The state spends money on things that harm the climate. The Greens want to end this step by step. The money saved should help people and the climate. First they want to change the rules for company cars.

The Greens want to overhaul the inheritance tax, push for a global billionaire tax and close gaps in the tax system. The platform justifies this with what it sees as a very unequal distribution of wealth in Germany.

The Greens want higher taxes on very large inheritances. Each person would get one tax-free amount for their whole life. The home you live in stays tax-free. Billionaires should pay a tax worldwide. Big companies should pay taxes where they make profits.

The Greens want to raise the standard deduction for employees to at least 1,500 euros and make filing taxes simpler. Many pensioners would no longer have to file a return at all.

Employees can deduct a flat amount for work costs from their taxes. This amount should rise to at least 1,500 euros. Then many people no longer need to collect receipts. Many pensioners would no longer have to file a tax return. Filing should be possible in an app.

The Greens want to introduce tax credits to relieve people on low incomes, single parents and those topping up wages with benefits. Working more hours should then always lead to noticeably more income.

People with low incomes should get a tax credit. This is money the tax office credits to them. They would need to fill out fewer forms. People who work more should also have more money. Saving should get more support too.

The Greens want to simplify the value-added tax and remove outdated exemptions. The reform is meant to leave total government revenue unchanged.

The value-added tax has many special rules. The Greens want to remove old special rules. The tax should become simpler. The state should take in the same amount of money as before.

The Greens want to give cities and towns more funding and relieve heavily indebted municipalities through a legacy debt fund paid for by the federal government and the states. Mandatory tasks delegated to municipalities are to be fully funded. The platform cites an investment backlog of 186 billion euros in municipal infrastructure.

Many cities and towns have too little money. Some have large old debts. The federal government and the states should help with these debts. Towns should get more money directly. They should decide for themselves what they need it for.

The Greens want to crack down harder on money laundering, tax evasion and financial market manipulation. The federal government would get more capacity for this, and financial supervision would be strengthened. The platform argues that these offenses cost the economy billions.

Some people cheat on taxes. Others hide money from crimes. The Greens want to go after this more. Federal agencies should get more resources for it.

The Left wants to exempt staple foods, hygiene products and bus and train tickets from value-added tax. This is meant to give quick relief to households with little money and boost purchasing power.

The Left wants to end the sales tax on basic foods. The same goes for hygiene products and tickets for buses and trains. These things should become cheaper. Stores must pass the tax cut on to customers.

The Left wants to levy the wealth tax again, with rates from 1 to 5 percent and 12 percent above one billion euros. It also calls for one-time wealth levies on the richest. According to the platform, the goal is that billionaires no longer exist.

Very rich people should pay a tax on their wealth. The first million euros stays tax-free. Those with more than a billion pay 12 percent on the part above it. There should also be a one-time levy on the richest. The Left wants there to be no more billionaires.

The Left wants to make income up to 16,800 euros a year tax-free and tax top incomes at up to 75 percent. Capital income is to be taxed like income from work.

People who earn little should pay less tax. Up to 16,800 euros a year, there should be no tax at all. People who earn very much should pay clearly more. Gains from investments should be taxed like wages.

The Left wants to tax large inheritances and gifts more heavily and eliminate exemptions for business assets. Ordinary owner-occupied homes would remain tax-free.

People who inherit very much should pay more tax. Exceptions for inherited companies should end. Each heir may receive 200,000 euros tax-free. A home the heir lives in also stays tax-free.

The Left wants to raise the corporate income tax to 25 percent and push for the global minimum tax to match that rate. Multinational companies would be taxed where they actually do business. The platform argues that the tax burden on companies has fallen sharply over recent decades.

The Left wants higher taxes for companies. The tax on company profits should rise to 25 percent. Big companies should no longer be able to move profits to other countries.

The Left wants to replace the Gewerbesteuer (local trade tax) with a municipal business tax levied on a broader base that also covers high-earning self-employed people. The platform points to underfunded municipalities and competition among towns over low tax rates.

The Left wants to change the local business tax. Businesses pay this tax to their town. In the future, well-paid self-employed people should pay it too. This should give towns and cities more money.

The Left wants to tax every financial transaction at 0.1 percent. The tax is meant to curb speculation and, according to the platform, to stabilize and shrink financial markets.

The Left wants a new tax on financial trades. Every trade on the markets would cost 0.1 percent. This should slow down speculation. Speculation means betting on prices.

The Left wants to tax the extra profits companies make during crises at 90 percent. In the platform's view, energy companies used their market power during the war in Ukraine to make record profits at the public's expense.

Some companies earn a lot more during a crisis. The Left wants to tax these extra profits heavily. 90 percent would go to the state. The money should benefit everyone.

The Left wants to fight tax fraud and money laundering with more staff, more audits of the very wealthy, and criminal liability for companies. German citizens would be taxed in Germany regardless of where they live. The platform cites cases such as Cum-Ex and Wirecard.

The Left wants to go after tax fraud harder. Tax offices should get more staff. Very rich people should be checked more often. Companies themselves could be punished. Germans living abroad would still pay German taxes.

The Left wants to scrap the Schuldenbremse (constitutional debt brake) so that the federal and state governments can again finance investment with loans. In the platform's view, the rule has caused large gaps in infrastructure and social services. Municipalities would be strengthened through a finance reform and a fund for old debts.

The debt brake limits new government debt. The Left wants to get rid of it. The state should be able to borrow for investments. For example for schools, trains and housing. Poor cities should get help with old debts.

The Left wants to shrink banks, wind down investment banking, and allow financial products only after approval by a financial safety inspectorate. According to the platform, the financial sector should serve society because financial crises can endanger entire states and welfare systems.

The Left wants to make banks smaller. Risky market deals should end. New financial products would need a permit first. Nobody should bet on food prices. Interest on overdrawn accounts should be capped.

The Left wants a nationwide package to relieve municipal debt and wants the federal government to cover social benefit costs in full. The local business tax (Gewerbesteuer) would be turned into a broader municipal business tax.

Many towns have high debts. The Left wants to reduce these debts. The federal government should pay all social benefits. The local business tax should be changed.

The ÖDP wants to pay for its new welfare system from several tax sources. These include environmental and resource taxes, a higher top income tax rate, and new taxes on wealth, speculation and digital business.

The ÖDP wants to pay for the new welfare system with several taxes. There should be taxes on using up nature and on wealth. Speculation and digital companies should also be taxed. People who earn a lot should pay more income tax.

The ÖDP wants an ecological and social tax reform: carbon pricing is to be expanded and the use of raw materials and land subjected to steadily rising taxes. In return, social insurance contributions would fall, and a per-capita payment would provide social balance.

The ÖDP wants taxes on the use of raw materials and land. These taxes should keep rising. In return, charges on wages should go down. Every person should also get the same amount of money back. This is meant to help people with little money.

The PdF wants to loosen the Schuldenbremse (debt brake) so that the federal government and the states can borrow more for investment. The platform argues that the current rule holds back spending on infrastructure, digitalization and climate protection.

The debt brake limits how much money the state may borrow. The PdF wants to raise this limit. The state should be able to borrow more. It should use the money for roads, networks and climate protection.

The PdF wants to streamline the tax system: small special taxes would be dropped, VAT exceptions removed and tax returns prepared automatically. The platform justifies this with the system's complexity and heavy administrative burden.

The PdF thinks taxes in Germany are too complicated. Old small taxes should go. The tax return should be made automatically. People only check it and confirm with one click.

The PdF wants to reshape the income tax schedule so that low and middle incomes pay less and high incomes pay more. This includes a new 50 percent rate for very high incomes and automatic adjustment for inflation.

The PdF wants to change the tax on income. People with low or middle pay should pay less. People who earn very much should pay more. From 400,000 euros a year, a rate of 50 percent should apply.

The PdF wants to use legislation to stop tax avoidance, especially by large companies, and to give tax offices more staff. It also considers a minimum tax when businesses are transferred.

Some big companies use tricks to pay little tax. The PdF wants to close these gaps in the law. Tax offices should get more staff. A minimum tax could also apply when a company is handed on.

The PdF wants to levy a wealth tax again. It points to growing wealth inequality and high public debt; the state is to gain more financial room.

The PdF wants a tax on large fortunes again. It says wealth is shared more and more unequally. The state should have more money this way. Jobs should stay protected.

The PdF wants to scrap the Solidaritätszuschlag (solidarity surcharge) for companies immediately. According to the platform, its original purpose of funding German reunification no longer applies, and the levy reduces room for investment.

The Soli is a surcharge on taxes. It was once meant to pay for German unity. The PdF wants to end it for companies right away. Companies should then have more money to invest.

The PdF wants companies to be able to deduct spending on energy-saving machinery and equipment from their taxes immediately and in full. This is meant to lower operating costs and speed up the replacement of outdated technology.

Many companies have old machines that use a lot of energy. The PdF wants to make buying efficient machines easier. Companies should deduct the cost from their taxes right away. Those who save energy should get more tax benefits.

The PdF wants to push back unreported economic activity with a mix of tougher penalties, public education, digitalization and incentives. The platform sees the shadow economy as a drain on public revenue and on trust in the tax system.

Some people and companies work without paying taxes. This is called the shadow economy. The PdF wants to fight it with higher penalties. People who report themselves should be able to avoid punishment. Campaigns should explain why taxes matter.

The PdF wants to replace Ehegattensplitting (joint tax splitting for married couples) with individual taxation plus a transferable allowance for families. Child tax allowances would drop to the constitutional minimum, with the freed-up money going to low-income families.

The PdF wants to change the tax for married couples. Each person should pay tax alone. Families should get a tax-free amount they can share. Support should depend on children, not on marriage. Poor families should get more money.

The PdF wants to exempt apprenticeship pay and working students' earnings from wage tax up to a cap. This is meant to ease the financial burden on young people so they can focus on their training or studies.

The PdF wants to help apprentices and students. They should pay no wage tax on their pay. This applies up to a certain limit. That leaves them more money.

The SPD wants to support company investments in machinery and equipment with a tax refund of 10 percent of the purchase price. It rejects across-the-board tax cuts for all companies and relies on targeted incentives.

Companies should invest more in Germany. If a company buys machines or equipment, it gets 10 percent of the price back. The money comes through its taxes. The SPD does not want a tax cut for all companies.

The SPD wants to change the debt rule in the constitution so the state can borrow more for investment. It says today's rule does not fit current challenges, and that paying for long-term investment with credit spreads costs fairly across generations.

The debt brake limits new government debt. The SPD wants to change this rule. The state should be allowed to borrow more money to invest. For example in schools, railways and defense. The states should also be allowed to borrow.

The SPD proposes a pact between the federal government, states and municipalities to give all levels more fiscal room for investment. A solution is to be found for municipalities' legacy debts that also takes eastern German municipalities into account.

Many cities and towns have little money and old debts. The SPD wants to solve this problem. The federal government, states and towns should work together. Funding programs should become simpler.

The SPD wants to fight tax evasion, financial crime and money laundering harder and build up a dedicated agency for it. A uniform minimum corporate tax of 15 percent is to apply across Europe.

Some people and companies do not pay their taxes. The SPD wants to fight this harder. An agency should take care of it. Across Europe, companies should pay at least 15 percent tax.

The SPD wants to keep levying the solidarity surcharge and use it to fund the country's transformation. The group of people paying it is not to grow beyond today's.

The Soli is an extra tax. Today only people with very high incomes and companies pay it. The SPD wants to keep the Soli. But no more people should pay it than today.

The SPD wants to tax very large fortunes again and introduce minimum taxation of large business assets under the inheritance tax. It says work is taxed more heavily than wealth today; the states are to spend the extra revenue on education.

Very rich people should pay more tax. The SPD wants a tax on very large fortunes again. People who inherit a big company should pay at least a fixed share. The family's own home stays tax-free. The money should go to schools.

The SPD wants to tax investment income at regular income tax rates and introduce a financial transaction tax. Gains from selling property the owner does not live in would no longer be tax-free even after ten years.

Profits from investments should be taxed like wages. The SPD also wants a tax on trades in stocks and securities. People who sell a rented house at a profit should always pay tax. Today that is tax-free after ten years.

The SPD wants to lower income tax for about 95 percent of taxpayers and, in return, draw more on very high incomes and wealth. It argues that work is currently taxed comparatively heavily and wealth comparatively lightly.

Most people should pay less income tax. Very rich people should pay more. Tax returns should become simpler. The tax office fills them in beforehand. Extra pay for overtime should be tax-free.

The reduced value-added tax rate on food is to drop from seven to five percent. After years of rising prices, the SPD wants to relieve low-income households in particular and have the market power of large retail chains watched more closely.

Food has become much more expensive. The SPD wants to lower the tax on food. It would fall from seven to five percent. That helps people with little money the most. Agencies should check big retailers' prices more closely.

The SPD wants to distribute the tax burden within couples more fairly while taking existing life choices into account. Tax classes III and V are to be merged as soon as possible into the factor method of class IV. Single parents would get more effective tax relief.

The SPD wants to change taxes for families. For couples, the tax should be shared more fairly. Tax classes 3 and 5 would go away. Single parents should be able to subtract an amount directly from their tax.

The SPD wants to advance a worldwide tax on billionaires together with other countries. The very rich are to contribute more to funding the common good, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and climate action; the international financial system is also to become fairer.

The SPD wants a new tax for billionaires. Many countries should introduce it together. The money should help all people and the climate. Poor countries with high debts should get relief.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to tax animal products at 19 percent or more instead of 7 percent. Plant-based foods and menstrual products would be taxed at no more than 7 percent and later not at all. It also calls for a one-time payment to offset inflation.

The party wants a higher tax on meat, milk and eggs. Plant-based food should be taxed less. Later this tax should end completely. Everyone should get a one-time payment because prices went up.

The Tierschutzpartei sees the debt brake as an obstacle to the shift toward more sustainability. Instead, it relies on a tax system that draws more on the wealthy and on investment in climate policy and other major challenges.

The debt brake limits new government debt. The party thinks it is too rigid. The state should spend more money on climate and the future. Rich people should pay more taxes for this.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to raise the inheritance tax, especially on very large estates, and to tax great wealth. The exit tax should stay and go up. According to the platform, the aim is a fairer distribution of income, wealth, and economic power.

People who inherit very much should pay more tax. Very large fortunes should be taxed too. Rich people should not simply move abroad to save taxes. So the exit tax should go up.

The Tierschutzpartei calls for a levy on speculative trading in financial products. Financial markets should be regulated and supervised more strictly across borders. The financial sector should serve the common good as well as returns.

The party wants a tax on trading stocks and similar products. This should slow down fast bets on the stock market. The money should go to climate protection and social support. Financial markets should get stricter rules.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to fight tax flight, tax evasion and financial crime with considerably more staff. Wasting tax money by public bodies would be treated under criminal law like tax evasion.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to hire more tax investigators. They should uncover tax fraud better. Tax havens should be closed. These are countries with very low taxes. Officials who waste tax money should also be punished.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to permanently tax what it sees as excessive profits of energy companies. The revenue is to fund the energy transition and ease the burden on consumers. At the same time, new jobs are to be created in renewable energy.

Electricity has been getting more expensive for years. The Tierschutzpartei says energy companies still earn a lot. They should pay a lasting extra tax on that. The party wants to use the money for clean energy and to help customers.

Volt wants a federal budget in which revenue, debt, and spending are in balance while still leaving room for investment. The budget is to be managed transparently and planned for the long term so that businesses can plan reliably.

Volt wants a balanced budget for the state. Income, debt, and spending should fit together. The state should still put money into roads, networks, and changing the economy. The budget should be open and planned for many years.

Volt wants to reform the Schuldenbremse (debt brake), which the platform considers too rigid and an obstacle to investment in the future. Certain net investments would no longer count under the rule, and the permitted level of new borrowing would rise.

Volt wants to change the debt brake. The debt brake limits how much new debt the state may take on. It should no longer apply to investments in the future. The state should also be allowed a little more debt overall. Experts should check the spending.

Volt wants to pursue tax avoidance and tax evasion more forcefully in order to secure revenue for tasks such as education, health, and infrastructure. To that end, loopholes are to be closed, agencies expanded, and penalties toughened.

Volt wants to do more against tax fraud. Gaps in the law should go away. The offices that investigate tax crimes should grow. Serious cases should bring higher penalties. This way the state should take in more money.

Volt wants to bring the corporate tax burden down to the OECD average and promote private investment with a bonus. The platform considers the burden high by international comparison but wants companies to contribute a fair share to the community.

Volt wants companies to pay less tax. Taxes should be as high as the average in other industrial countries. Companies that invest should get a 10 percent bonus for two years. The EU should have a minimum tax for companies.

Volt wants to dismantle subsidies that harm the climate in several stages by 2028, including the tax exemption for jet fuel and advantages for company cars, the commuter allowance, and diesel. The party expects lower emissions, a more stable budget, and extra money for climate action and social compensation.

The state supports some things that harm the climate. Volt wants to end this support step by step. Jet fuel should be taxed. Diesel and company cars with combustion engines should cost more. The saved money should go to climate action and social support.

Volt wants to scrap the tax advantage for company cars. In the party's view, it encourages the purchase of climate-damaging cars and mainly benefits the well-off.

People who use a company car privately pay little tax on it today. Volt wants to end this benefit. Volt says the benefit mostly helps rich people. Volt also says it leads to more cars that harm the climate.

Volt wants to strengthen private wealth building as a fourth pillar of retirement provision. The tax-free allowance on investment income would rise substantially for adults and could be carried over to later years, and financial literacy would be promoted. The platform expects this to support upward mobility and protect against old-age poverty, especially for younger people.

Volt wants to make it easier for people to save money themselves. People would pay less tax on gains from investments. A tax-free amount would go up. Everyone should also learn more about money.

Volt wants to restructure income tax so that low and middle incomes pay less and very high incomes pay more, without changing total revenue. This includes a higher basic allowance, ending the solidarity surcharge and Ehegattensplitting (joint tax splitting for married couples), and a higher top tax rate. The platform justifies this with strengthening the middle class and families.

Volt wants to change income tax. People with low and middle incomes would pay less. People with very high incomes would pay a bit more. The tax advantage for married couples would end. In return, the child benefit would go up.

Volt wants to add up inheritances and gifts over a whole lifetime and tax them progressively. The current exemption rules for business assets would be dropped, while allowances for family members would rise. The platform aims to reduce the concentration of wealth and raise more tax revenue.

Volt wants to change the tax on inheritances and gifts. Everything a person inherits or receives as a gift in life is added up. People who receive a lot pay more tax. Family members may receive more tax-free. Businesses get their own rules.

Volt wants to tax wealth above high exemption thresholds at rising rates. The platform presents this as a balance between social fairness and economic stability.

Volt wants a tax on very large fortunes. People who own more pay a higher share. A high amount stays tax-free for each person.

Volt wants to exempt staple foods from value-added tax and apply the reduced rate to sustainable and essential products. In the party's view, the tax weighs especially heavily on low-income households.

Volt wants to change the sales tax. Bread, fruit and vegetables would have no tax. The tax on some other products would go down. This is meant to help people with little money.