What do the parties in Hesse say on finance and taxes?

The AfD wants a balanced state budget and strict application of the debt brake. Suspending it would only be possible if the state parliament declares an emergency with a two-thirds majority. All spending is to be reviewed and old debt repaid under a binding rule.

The AfD wants Hesse to take on no new debt. The debt brake should apply strictly. This is a rule against new debt. Exceptions should only be possible in an emergency. Two thirds of the state parliament would have to agree.

The AfD wants more transparency in how public projects are financed and rejects debt-financed special funds. It opposes public-private partnerships on principle because, according to audit offices, they cost too much. Privatizing essential public services should only be decided by local referendums.

The AfD does not want special funds. These are pots of money outside the normal budget, often paid for with debt. The state should also not build together with private companies. The AfD says this costs too much. Citizens should vote before important public services are sold.

The AfD wants to cut subsidies in Hesse and review all funding programs along with their procedures and institutions. It also wants wasteful use of tax money to be uncovered and punished more consistently.

The AfD wants fewer subsidies. That is money the state pays to support something. All funding programs in Hesse should be checked. People who waste tax money should face consequences.

The AfD wants to give states and municipalities more money by renegotiating how public revenue is shared between the federal government, states and municipalities. Municipalities should gain enough leeway that the property tax (Grundsteuer) can be dropped. Earmarked state grants would shrink in favor of freely usable allocations.

The AfD wants more money for states and towns. Tax money should be shared out in a new way. Towns should then no longer need the property tax. People pay this tax for land and houses. Towns should decide more freely how to spend their money.

The AfD wants to abolish the real estate transfer tax for owner-occupied homes. It argues that the tax makes moving harder and puts workers at a disadvantage who relocate for their jobs. Road construction fees charged to residents are also to be dropped across Hesse.

People who buy a house or apartment pay a transfer tax. The AfD wants to end this tax for homes people live in themselves. Moving should become easier. Road construction fees should also end. These are costs that residents pay when their street is built or repaired.

The AfD wants to abolish the property transfer tax for owner-occupied homes and scrap the property tax entirely. Municipalities would be compensated for losing the property tax. Sellers would pay real estate agent fees on purchases in the future.

People who buy a house pay a tax. The AfD wants to end this tax if you live there yourself. The yearly property tax should go too. Towns should get other money instead. The seller should pay the real estate agent.

The CDU wants to push at the federal level for more tax relief for families. The tax allowance for single parents is to rise to 5,000 euros, and childcare costs of up to 6,000 euros are to be deductible.

The CDU wants families to pay less tax. Single parents should get a higher tax allowance. Parents should be able to deduct more childcare costs from their taxes. The federal government decides on this.

The CDU wants to reorganize the Kommunaler Finanzausgleich (state transfers to municipalities) following an evaluation and keep transfers at record levels. Municipalities are to get more leeway and fewer earmarked funds.

The state gives money to towns and counties. The CDU wants new rules for this. Towns should keep getting a very large amount. They should decide more freely how to spend it. Small, spread-out towns should get more help.

The CDU stands by the debt brake and wants to lower government spending as a share of the economy. Consumption spending and subsidies it considers inefficient are to fall, while investment in schools, digital government and infrastructure is to rise. All plans in the program are subject to available funds.

The CDU does not want new debt. The state should spend less money overall. More money should go to schools, digital offices and roads. All plans only apply if there is enough money.

The CDU wants to keep the Länderfinanzausgleich (fiscal equalization among the states) but redesign it to create more economic incentives and competition between states. If talks fail, Hesse would join other contributor states in a new challenge before the Federal Constitutional Court.

Rich German states give money to poorer states. Hesse pays a lot into this system. The CDU wants to change the rules. If talks fail, it wants to go to court.

The CDU rejects additional caps on cash payments as well as any end to cash. It holds this position even as more people pay without cash in everyday life.

Many people now pay by card or phone. The CDU still wants to keep cash. It also wants no new limits on paying with cash.

The CDU wants a corporate tax reform under which retained profits are taxed at no more than 25 percent. It rejects further tax increases and any tax on wealth, and intends to take that position in the Bundesrat as well.

The CDU wants companies to pay less tax. Profits that stay in the company should be taxed at 25 percent at most. The CDU does not want higher taxes. It also rejects a tax on wealth.

The CDU intends to push at the federal level for inheritance and gift tax allowances to rise by a quarter. It also wants states to be able to shape inheritance tax themselves so that Hesse can align allowances with real estate prices.

People who inherit often have to pay tax. Part of the inheritance is tax-free. The CDU wants this part to be bigger. Heirs should not have to sell their parents' house. If needed, the CDU wants to go to court.

The CDU wants to enshrine in law the offsetting of bracket creep and seeks a special allowance for 2023 and 2024 for incomes under 60,000 euros. At the federal level it also wants childcare costs, club membership fees and blood donations to become tax-deductible.

When prices and wages rise, people often pay more tax. This is called bracket creep. The CDU wants a law to offset it. People earning under 60,000 euros should get an extra 1,000 euros tax-free. Childcare costs should also lower the tax bill.

The FDP wants to keep the Schuldenbremse (debt brake) unchanged and rejects loosening it. A binding repayment plan is to apply to the state's old debts. The party justifies this with fairness between generations and room for future budgets.

The FDP wants to keep the debt brake. The debt brake limits new government debt. Hesse should pay off old debt under a fixed plan. This should put less burden on young people later.

The FDP wants to review all of the state's company holdings and keep only those that serve a clear state policy goal. Proceeds from privatizations are to go into an infrastructure fund.

Hesse owns shares in 49 companies. The FDP wants to review all of these shares. The state should keep only important ones. Money from sales should go into roads, networks and other infrastructure.

The FDP wants Hesse to invest more and plans to anchor an investment rate in the budget. Investment should be at least as high as depreciation. The priorities are education, infrastructure and digitalization.

The FDP wants Hesse to put more money into the future. The budget should have a fixed minimum level for this. The money should go mainly to education and infrastructure. Fast internet should also be expanded.

The FDP wants to digitalize and automate Hesse's tax administration further. Fees charged by the state administration are to be revised. For married couples, the tax office should choose the more favorable type of assessment on its own initiative.

The FDP wants to make tax offices more digital. Many things should run automatically. State fees should be reorganized. For married couples, the office itself should pick the cheaper way to calculate the tax.

The FDP wants cash to remain an unrestricted means of payment and rejects a cap on cash payments. It sees cash as part of personal freedom because it allows saving and doing business without state monitoring.

The FDP wants to keep cash. Everyone should still be able to pay in cash without limits. The FDP rejects a maximum amount for cash payments. For the FDP, cash is part of freedom.

The FDP wants to abolish the Solidaritätszuschlag (solidarity surcharge) entirely because, in its view, it is no longer justified since Solidarpakt II expired. The partial abolition so far is not enough for the party.

The solidarity surcharge is an extra charge on top of tax. Today only some people still pay it. The FDP wants to abolish it for everyone. It says there is no longer a reason for it.

The FDP wants to scrap the solidarity levy that financially strong municipalities pay within municipal revenue sharing, arguing that it penalizes success. The state's trade tax levy is also to go, since in the party's view it presents municipal money as state money.

Wealthy cities and towns in Hesse pay a special levy. The FDP wants to abolish this levy. A levy on the local business tax should also go. The money should stay with the towns.

The FDP wants to introduce a cap on municipal property tax multipliers because they are above average in Hesse. It rejects a statewide Grundsteuer C (a tax on undeveloped building land); municipalities should decide on it themselves.

Towns set how high the property tax is. The FDP wants a maximum limit for it. This should also protect renters from high extra costs. There should be no statewide extra tax on empty building lots.

The FDP wants to fund municipalities well enough that they can repair their roads and also do without Straßenausbaubeiträge (road improvement charges on adjacent property owners). To this end, state grants for municipal roads are to rise from 18 to 78 million euros.

Residents often have to pay when their street is renewed. The FDP wants towns to be able to drop these charges. For this, towns should get more money from the state. It should be 78 million euros instead of 18.

The FDP wants to raise the municipal share of sales tax and income tax and provide funds to municipalities without conditions. The goal is adequately funded local governments that no longer make land-use decisions mainly with business tax revenue in mind.

Towns and cities often have too little money. The FDP wants to give them a bigger share of taxes. The federal and state governments should fully pay for tasks they hand to towns. Towns should decide for themselves how to use the money.

The Greens stand by the basic idea of the Schuldenbremse (debt brake) but want to change it: loans for investment in infrastructure and climate protection should be allowed with a fixed repayment plan. In their view, failing to invest also burdens future generations.

The debt brake limits new government debt. The Greens want to change this rule. The state should be allowed to borrow for roads, rail, buildings and climate protection. There should be a fixed plan for paying the money back. The state should still pay its day-to-day costs from its income.

The Greens want to keep guaranteeing municipalities the money for tasks delegated to them and to further develop the municipal fiscal equalization system. Tax revenue is to be shared fairly between the state and municipalities and among municipalities.

Cities and towns need enough money for their tasks. The Greens want to keep promising them this money. Tax income should be shared fairly. This applies between the state and the towns. It also applies among the towns themselves.

The Greens want to align the state's budget, investments and shareholdings with climate and sustainability goals and to cut climate-damaging subsidies. Frankfurt is to become a European hub for sustainable finance.

The state should consider climate and the environment when handling its money. Subsidies that harm the climate should be reduced. The state should invest its money sustainably. The Greens also want to check how the budget affects women and men. Frankfurt should become an important place for sustainable finance.

The Greens want to fight tax fraud and reduce opportunities for tax avoidance. To do so, the tax administration is to be better equipped and efforts against money laundering strengthened.

The Greens want to act against tax fraud. There should be fewer ways to avoid taxes. Tax offices should become more modern and digital. Money laundering should be fought harder. Money laundering means criminals hide where their money comes from.

The SPD wants to make Frankfurt a global center for sustainable finance and create an agency for sustainable finance there. It backs a European anti-money-laundering authority and wants it based in Frankfurt. Mid-sized companies and startups should get easier access to capital markets.

The SPD wants to strengthen Frankfurt as a finance center. Frankfurt should become a center for green investing. There should be a new agency for this. A European office against money laundering should come to Frankfurt. Small companies should get money from capital markets more easily.

The SPD first wants to review all of the state's spending and tasks. A permanent financing instrument controlled by the state parliament is to be created for investments in climate protection, digitalization, education and infrastructure. Debt rules should not block needed investment.

The SPD first wants to check what Hesse spends money on. Then it wants to invest more in the future. For example in schools, climate protection and the internet. There should be a special fund for this. The state parliament should control it.

The SPD wants to revise the municipal fiscal equalization system and abolish the road improvement charges levied on property owners. The state is to replace the lost revenue for municipalities. Municipalities are also to be allowed to earn more revenue of their own, for example from renewable energy.

Towns and villages should get more money from the state. Residents should no longer pay for the upgrade of their street. The state should replace this money for the towns. Towns should also be allowed to earn more money themselves. For example with power from wind and sun.

The SPD wants to use the Bundesrat (the chamber of the states) to push for several new or changed taxes, including a wealth tax, a financial transaction tax and a windfall profits tax. The flat tax on capital income is to go. Tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance are to be fought harder.

The SPD wants rich people and large companies to pay more tax. It wants a tax on large fortunes. Trading in shares should also be taxed. Companies should be audited more often. People who do not pay their taxes should be pursued.