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

The AfD calls for considerably more money for towns and municipalities, some of which it considers severely underfunded. The state development plan and the allocation of decision-making powers should be designed so that the state stays decentralized and rural areas do not fall behind.

The AfD wants to give towns and villages much more money. Local councils should decide more things themselves. The state should not put everything in a few places. Tourism in the countryside should also get support.

The AfD calls for permanently cutting value-added tax by four percentage points and scrapping the solidarity surcharge entirely. Business taxation is also to be reformed. The aim is to strengthen household purchasing power and the competitiveness of the economy.

The AfD wants lower taxes. Value-added tax should drop by four percentage points. The solidarity surcharge should end. The party also wants to change taxes for companies. People should then have more money to spend.

The AfD wants to abolish the charges residents pay when their street is upgraded. It considers them unfair and inefficient and points to high administrative costs caused by legal disputes.

Residents often have to pay when their street is upgraded. The AfD wants to end these charges completely. It thinks the charges are unfair. It says they lead to many legal disputes and cost the administration a lot of money.

The AfD wants to lower taxes and levies, especially for families. It calls for family-based income splitting, abolishing road improvement charges on property owners, and keeping taxes on real estate as low as possible. It rejects environmental and climate taxes.

The AfD wants lower taxes and fees. Families should pay less tax through family splitting. That means children count when the tax is worked out. Residents should no longer pay for upgrades to their street. The AfD rejects taxes for the environment and the climate.

The AfD wants to reduce public debt on a planned schedule and forgo new borrowing. Its reasoning is that debt burdens future generations. The platform sees savings mainly in refugee and integration policy, in subsidy programs and in the administration.

The AfD wants the state to take on no new debt. The state should pay down old debt step by step. The party says debt is a burden for children and grandchildren. It wants to save money on refugees and integration. It also wants to cut subsidies and government offices.

The AfD rejects higher taxes and levies on principle and wants to lower the Grunderwerbsteuer (property transfer tax). Families buying a home to live in are to receive an allowance per child. Road improvement levies charged to property owners are to be dropped entirely.

The AfD wants no higher taxes. The tax on buying land and houses should go down. Families should get 60,000 euros tax-free for each child. Residents should no longer pay when their street is rebuilt. The state should replace the lost money for towns.

The AfD wants a lasting improvement in the finances of Saarland's municipalities, whose debt is far above the national average. It plans adjustments to fiscal equalization, help with legacy debts and an infrastructure funding program. The federal government is also to be reminded of an announced write-off of old municipal debt.

Towns and cities in Saarland have high debts. The AfD wants to give them more money. The federal and state governments should pay for a program for buildings and roads. The federal government should also help with old debts. Towns must show that they spend carefully.

The AfD wants the Grundsteuer (annual property tax) to be based on the area of land and buildings rather than on their value. In the party's view, regular valuation is too laborious and too expensive. The area model is meant to save costs for citizens and the administration.

The property tax is a yearly tax on land and houses. Today it depends on the value. The AfD wants to count only the area. That should be simpler and cheaper. Citizens and offices should have less work.

The AfD wants Saarland to invest more because its investment rate lags far behind other German states. Putting state finances in order should not come at the expense of investment in the future. More money is to go to transport routes, hospitals and educational facilities.

Saarland invests less than other German states. The AfD wants to change that. The state should save money, but not on important investments. There should be more money for roads, hospitals and schools.

The AfD wants to preserve cash as legal tender without restriction and regards its use as a civil liberty. In the party's view, purely electronic payments open up possibilities for control that do not fit a free state under the rule of law. They would also create dependence on working technology.

The AfD wants to keep cash. Everyone should still be able to pay with bills and coins. The party says this is a freedom right. With only electronic money, the state can check too much. The technology can also fail.

The CDU wants to free mid-sized businesses from red tape and lower their tax and contribution burden. Through the Bundesrat it wants to reverse the early due date for social insurance contributions and expand the tax loss carryback.

The CDU wants to ease the load on companies. They should pay less in taxes and charges. There should also be less paperwork. Companies should be allowed to pay social contributions later. That leaves them more money.

The CDU wants to stick to the debt brake while investing in public infrastructure. All state spending is to be reviewed continuously for effectiveness and cut or eliminated where needed.

The debt brake limits new government debt. The CDU wants to keep this rule. The state should still invest in roads and buildings. The CDU wants to check all state spending again and again. It wants to cut or end spending that has little effect.

The CDU wants to raise public investment with a special infrastructure program and set up a "Saarlandfonds" (Saarland fund). The fund is meant to boost investment without breaching the debt brake and to serve as an investment option for savers and investors.

The CDU wants to put more money into buildings, administration and transport. It plans a special program for this. There should also be a Saarland fund. Savers and investors can put money into this fund. The debt brake should still apply.

The CDU calls for scrapping the solidarity surcharge entirely. It considers the surcharge no longer justifiable more than 30 years after reunification and given higher tax revenues.

The "Soli" is an extra charge on top of income tax. Since 2021 most people no longer pay it. The CDU wants to end it for everyone. It says the charge no longer fits the times.

The CDU supports uniform nationwide exemption thresholds for the Grunderwerbsteuer (real estate transfer tax). This is meant to make buying a home easier, especially for young families, with a federal program covering the cost.

People who buy a house or apartment pay a tax. The CDU wants part of the purchase to be tax-free. This should help young families most of all. The rule should be the same across Germany. The federal government should pay for it.

The CDU wants Saarland's Gewerbesteuer (local business tax) rates not to exceed the national average in the long run. It considers a state-backed reduction program feasible only if the federal government takes part through a municipal debt relief strategy.

Companies pay a business tax to their town. Each town sets the rate itself. The CDU wants this tax to go down in Saarland. It should not be higher than the German average. But the state needs help from the federal government for this.

The CDU wants Saarland's municipal fiscal equalization system reassessed soon and reviewed regularly so that money is distributed according to actual need. It calls on the federal government to take over the legacy debts of financially weak municipalities.

Many towns in Saarland have little money. The CDU wants to check how money is shared between the state and the towns. The sharing should be fair. The federal government should take over old debts of poor towns.

The CDU wants to ease the burden of energy prices on households and businesses. It calls for electricity tax at the EU minimum, a faster end to the EEG surcharge (renewable energy levy), a temporary cut in fuel tax and a higher commuter allowance.

Energy has become expensive. The CDU wants to cut taxes on energy. The tax on electricity should be as low as possible. The tax on gasoline and diesel should also go down for a while. Commuters should be able to deduct more from their taxes.

The CDU wants to deepen relations with Luxembourg through a dedicated strategy. It will lobby the federal government for a revised double taxation agreement allowing 52 home office days a year and for cross-border workers to count more when tax revenue is distributed to municipalities.

Many people from Saarland work in Luxembourg. The CDU wants closer cooperation with Luxembourg. Commuters should be allowed to work from home 52 days a year. Luxembourg and Germany should share the taxes for those days. Towns with many commuters should not lose out on tax money.

The SPD calls on the federal government to take over municipalities' legacy debts and wants sales tax revenue distributed more by population. Within the state, municipal fiscal equalization is to be reformed on the basis of an expert study.

Many towns and cities in Saarland have high debts. The SPD wants the federal government to take over the old debts. Sales tax money should be shared by number of residents. In the state, the SPD wants to share money among towns in a new way.