What do the parties in Rhineland-Palatinate say on finance and taxes?

The AfD wants to extend Ehegattensplitting (joint tax splitting for married couples) to include the children in a household, so that their number lowers the parents' income tax. The platform justifies this with the poverty risk of large families and single parents. Child benefit and the child supplement would remain.

Married couples pay tax together today and often save money this way. The AfD wants children to count too. Parents with more children should pay less tax. Child benefit should stay.

The AfD wants the state to take over the short-term liquidity loans of all municipalities, not just some. The money is to come from the state's budget stabilization reserve. Lower interest costs are meant to prevent further increases in property and business taxes.

Many towns and cities have high debts. So far, the state has helped only some of them. The AfD wants the state to take over these debts for all of them. There is a reserve in the state budget for this. Then towns would not have to raise their taxes further.

The AfD wants to give municipalities more state money through the municipal revenue-sharing system and pay out a larger share without earmarks. Earmarked state grant programs are to be replaced by general allocations. Local councils would then decide for themselves how to spend the money.

The state gives money to towns and cities. The AfD wants them to get more money. Towns should decide themselves how to spend it. Today the state often tells them what to do with it. That should change.

The AfD wants to abolish the charges that property owners pay when roads are upgraded. It considers them unfair, inefficient and bureaucratic. In return, municipalities would receive at least 90 million euros a year from the state.

People who own land often have to pay when their road is rebuilt. The AfD wants to end these charges. The state should give towns the missing money. That is at least 90 million euros a year.

The AfD first wants to determine how large the repair backlog in the municipalities is. A plan agreed with the municipalities is then supposed to ensure that the backlog is fully cleared within 15 years.

Many roads, sports fields and kindergartens are in bad shape. The AfD first wants to find out how much needs fixing. Then there should be a plan with the towns. Everything should be repaired within 15 years.

The AfD wants to ease the burden on citizens and businesses by cutting or scrapping taxes; it rejects new taxes. At the federal level it backs a flat income tax rate of 25 percent, higher allowances and an end to inheritance and gift tax.

The AfD thinks people pay too much in taxes. It wants to lower or end taxes. There should be no new taxes. Income tax should have one rate of 25 percent for everyone. The tax on inheritances should go away.

The AfD wants to lower the state's real estate transfer tax from five to 3.5 percent to make buying property easier. Through the Bundesrat, it also wants an allowance for owner-occupied homes that takes the number of children into account. In the long run, the tax is to be dropped entirely for owner-occupiers.

People who buy a house or apartment pay a tax. Today it is 5 percent of the price. The AfD wants to lower it to 3.5 percent. Families with children should pay even less. Later the tax should end for people who live in the home themselves.

The AfD rejects a tax on single-use packaging for takeout food and drinks, which several cities in the state are debating. It considers the tax environmentally ineffective and highly bureaucratic and wants to avoid extra costs for restaurants and consumers.

Some cities want a tax on throwaway packaging. This affects things like coffee cups and paper bags for rolls. The AfD is against it. It says the tax does not help the environment. And it makes takeout food more expensive.

The AfD wants to push at the federal level to abolish property taxes and the Gewerbesteuer (local trade tax). Municipalities would instead get a larger share of income tax revenue and their own surcharge on income and corporate tax. This is also meant to lower the running costs of housing.

The AfD wants to end the property tax. It also wants to end the trade tax. Businesses pay the trade tax to their town. Towns would get other money instead. The AfD also wants to ban towns from adding new taxes on water or living space.

The AfD rejects Sondervermögen (special off-budget funds) on principle and calls them debt-financed shadow budgets. It demands budget discipline, transparency, and debt reduction instead, so that taxes can be lowered later.

A special fund is an extra pot next to the normal budget. The state usually fills it with debt. The AfD rejects such pots. It wants to pay down debt. Taxes should then go down later.

The CDU rules out new taxes, new levies and tax increases for Rhineland-Palatinate. Through the Bundesrat, it also wants to bring about a lower electricity tax for everyone. This is meant to relieve private households and make businesses more competitive.

The CDU promises no new taxes in the state. Existing taxes should not go up. The tax on electricity should also go down for everyone. Then households and businesses pay less for energy.

The CDU wants to restructure the Kommunaler Finanzausgleich (municipal fiscal equalization): municipalities would get more unrestricted money instead of many separate funding programs. Whoever assigns them tasks or raises standards would have to pay for them. The aim is for cities, towns and counties to invest on their own again.

The state gives money to cities and towns. The CDU wants to change how this money is shared. Towns should get more money they can use freely. They should decide for themselves how to spend it. If the state gives new tasks, it must pay for them.

The CDU wants to abolish Straßenausbaubeiträge (charges on property owners for road improvements) entirely. Road work would be paid from general state funds instead, because the platform sees roads as a basic public service rather than the concern of individual adjacent owners.

Today residents must help pay to rebuild their street. The CDU wants to end this. The state should provide the money. The CDU says roads are there for everyone.

The CDU wants to make the state budget transparent and put unused funds into investment. In its view, the state takes in enough money but does not spend it on future needs.

The CDU says the state has enough money. But it does not spend the money. The CDU wants to show where money sits unused in the budget. That money should go to roads, schools and security. Towns and cities should also get a share.

The Greens want to use the states' new borrowing leeway to set up an "RLP-Zukunftsfonds" (Rhineland-Palatinate future fund). It would mainly help companies shift to climate-neutral production. In the long run, the debt brake should be reformed so that borrowing is allowed up to the level of public investment.

The Greens want a new fund for Rhineland-Palatinate. A fund is a pot of money for one purpose. The state may take on new debt for it. The money should help companies become climate-friendly. The Greens also want to change the rules on state debt.

The Greens want to push at state and federal level for what they see as a fairer tax system, with large fortunes and capital gains contributing more. At the same time, the state tax administration should get more staff for company audits to uncover tax evasion and undeclared work.

The Greens want to share the tax burden differently. Very rich people should pay more. Today many people pay more tax on wages than on investment gains. The state should also hire more tax auditors. They should find tax fraud in companies.

The Greens want to strengthen municipal finances. The federal government should pay for the tasks it assigns to municipalities and help with their old debts. In the state, the municipal revenue-sharing system is to be reviewed, and climate protection is to become a mandatory municipal task.

Many towns and villages are short of money. The Greens say the federal government should pay for the tasks it sets. It should also help with old debts. The state will check whether towns get enough money. Climate protection should become a duty for towns.

The SPD wants to channel money from the federal special fund through the Rheinland-Pfalz-Plan into education, climate and infrastructure. Municipalities are to receive the money through a simple procedure and decide for themselves where to use it.

The federal government is providing a lot of money for investment. A large part goes to cities and towns. The state adds more money. The towns should decide for themselves how to spend it.

The SPD wants to further improve the financial situation of municipalities and shape the municipal fiscal equalization system according to need. It demands that the federal government take over half of municipalities' legacy debt and fully pay for new tasks.

Many cities and towns have too little money. The SPD wants to keep helping them. The federal government should take over half of the towns' old debts. Whoever gives towns new tasks should also pay for them.

The SPD wants to continue forward-looking budgeting with clear priorities while securing the state's capacity to invest. Through the Rheinland-Pfalz-Plan, 5.4 billion euros are to go into education, infrastructure, digitization, climate protection, health and basic public services.

The SPD wants to handle the state's money carefully. At the same time, the state should invest a lot. 5.4 billion euros should go to schools, roads, climate protection and health. Cities and rural areas should have equally good living conditions.

The SPD wants everyone to pay their fair share of taxes and intends to further strengthen the tax and revenue administration to that end. The administration is to be modernized and further digitized. The high number of trainees at the finance college in Edenkoben is to be maintained.

The SPD wants everyone to pay taxes fairly. For this, the tax offices should become stronger. They should work in a more modern and digital way. The state should keep training many experts for the tax offices.