What do the parties in Saxony-Anhalt say on finance and taxes?

The AfD wants a state law that bars municipalities from taxing single-use packaging for food and drinks. It sees the tax as a burden on citizens, restaurants, retail and skilled trades. It says the administrative effort is out of proportion to the revenue.

Some cities want a tax on throwaway packaging for food and drinks. The AfD is against it. It wants to ban this tax in the whole state. It says the tax makes things cost more. It also means a lot of work for companies and offices.

The AfD wants to use the Bundesrat to lower the electricity tax for private households from 2.05 to 0.1 cents per kilowatt-hour. The tax would also be cut for all businesses. The aim is to relieve low-income residents and stop the loss of industry and jobs.

People pay a tax on electricity. The AfD wants to cut this tax sharply. It should be as low as the EU allows. This should apply to homes and to all companies. People with little money would then pay less.

The AfD wants to use the Bundesrat to get the energy tax on gasoline and diesel lowered to the minimum the EU allows. This is meant mainly to relieve commuters. The platform points to the high share of taxes and levies in fuel prices.

The AfD wants to make gasoline and diesel cheaper. To do this, the tax on fuel should drop sharply. It should only be as high as the EU requires at minimum. This should help people who drive to work.

The AfD wants to guarantee every municipality a binding minimum level of funding and to pay down old short-term cash loans through a special program. Municipal fiscal equalization and state funding programs would be restructured so that small rural communities are not worse off than cities.

The AfD wants to give towns and villages more money. Every municipality should get a fixed minimum amount. A special program should reduce old municipal debts. Small villages should no longer get less funding than big cities.

The AfD wants an across-the-board spending cut of at least ten percent in all ministries, fewer ministries, and a smaller workforce. It also wants to lower the government spending ratio and switch the state budget to commercial accounting. The program justifies this with sharply increased administrative costs.

The AfD wants the state to spend less money on administration. Every ministry should cut at least ten percent. There should be fewer ministries. The number of state employees should also go down step by step.

The AfD wants to lower the property transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) in Saxony-Anhalt from 5 to 2.5 percent. The aim is to make buying a home easier, which the party sees as a basis for financial freedom.

People who buy a house or an apartment pay a tax. The AfD wants to cut this tax in half. Then buying a home costs less.

The AfD wants to abolish small taxes that raise little revenue, arguing that they cause a lot of red tape. It also promises not to introduce any new levies or raise taxes in the state.

Some taxes bring the state little money. But they cause a lot of work. The AfD wants to end these taxes. It also promises that the state will get no new taxes.

The AfD wants to review every item of state spending and cut those it considers unnecessary. The budget would be organized by service areas with measurable targets, so that it becomes visible what the money achieves.

The AfD wants to check every expense of the state. Expenses that are not needed should go. The budget should show what the state spends money on. It should also show what the money achieves.

The AfD wants to push at the federal level for the state to stop collecting the church tax on behalf of the churches. It sees this as a privilege that burdens the administration and is no longer justified.

Today the state collects the church tax for the churches. The AfD wants to stop that. The churches should collect their money themselves. The AfD says this takes work off public offices.

The AfD wants to let the state audit office (Landesrechnungshof) examine how state money is used all the way down to the final recipient. This would mainly affect welfare associations and social enterprises, which the party says have so far faced little oversight.

The state audit office checks how the state spends money. The AfD wants to give it more rights. It should also check groups that get money from the state. The AfD wants to stop misuse of tax money this way.

The AfD wants to stop creating special funds (Sondervermögen) and dissolve existing ones, which it regards as hidden debt. A budget transparency law would ban lump-sum savings targets, and the debt brake would apply without exceptions.

A special fund is a pot of money outside the normal budget. The AfD says these are hidden debts. It wants to close these funds. A new law should make the budget clear and honest. The state should take on no new debt.

The AfD wants to restructure the state's revenue-sharing law (Finanzausgleichsgesetz) so that cities and towns receive more money they can use freely. New tasks the state assigns to municipalities would be paid for automatically and in full.

The state gives money to cities and towns. The AfD wants them to get more money. They should decide for themselves how to spend it. If the state gives them new tasks, it should also pay for them.

The BSW wants to abolish the debt brake and boost demand through public investment. The long-term goal is full employment; in the party's view, austerity weakens the economy and infrastructure.

The debt brake limits new government debt. The BSW wants to get rid of it. The state should put more money into schools, roads and bridges. That should give firms orders and give everyone work.

The federal and state governments are to take over municipal debt in full. Whoever assigns tasks to municipalities should also pay for them permanently.

Many cities and towns have high debts. The federal and state governments should take over these debts. Whoever gives towns new tasks should also pay for them. Then towns can build more again.

The BSW wants to clear Saxony-Anhalt's investment backlog with a large, long-term investment program. In the program's view, the debt brake in its current form blocks spending on infrastructure, education, housing and municipal facilities.

The BSW wants the state to invest a lot of money. The money should go to roads, schools, housing and networks. The party says the debt brake stands in the way. The debt brake is a rule that limits new government debt.

The BSW wants to tax high incomes and large fortunes more heavily and bring back the wealth tax. Incomes below 2,000 euros are to be tax-free, and the inheritance and gift tax is to be reformed.

Very rich people should pay more taxes. The BSW wants a tax on large fortunes. People earning under 2,000 euros should pay no income tax. Large inheritances should also be taxed more.

The BSW wants to reorganize how municipalities are funded: reliable base funding instead of many grant programs, and a larger share of tax revenue. Municipalities should be able to decide for themselves what they spend money on.

Many cities and towns have too little money. The BSW wants to give them more money on a lasting basis. They should decide themselves how to spend it. Whoever gives them new tasks should also pay for them.

The CDU rejects higher taxes because, in its view, they burden families, workers, and small and mid-sized businesses and weaken growth. It stands by the debt brake, wants to keep the state's debt from rising, and plans to put surpluses into reserves.

The CDU does not want to raise taxes. It says higher taxes hurt families, workers, and small companies. The state should not take on new debt. If money is left over, the state should save it for bad times.

The CDU wants to keep the share of investment in the state budget high over the long term and give it priority over day-to-day spending. The money is to go to infrastructure, energy, research, education, security, and start-ups. Funds for structural change are to be used in a targeted and transparent way.

The CDU wants the state to invest a lot. The money should go to roads, internet, energy, research, and education. Investment should matter more than day-to-day spending. The state's development bank should become stronger.

The CDU wants to secure reliable funding for cities, towns, and counties. Starting in 2027, a new fiscal equalization act is to distribute money more fairly across the levels of local government.

The CDU wants cities and towns to have enough money. From 2027, a new law should share the money more fairly. Every municipality should get a minimum amount. Poorer municipalities should get extra help.

The Greens want targeted investment in education, climate protection and social justice while achieving balanced budgets. The debt brake is to be reformed so the state can act on long-term tasks, and the budget and subsidies are to become more transparent.

The Greens want to spend money on education, climate and social needs. The state should still not spend more than it takes in. The rule on debt should change. Everyone should be able to see online what the state spends money on.

The Greens want to lift the obligation to file a tax return for people whose only income is wages or pensions. Instead, they would automatically receive a draft tax assessment.

Some people only get wages or only a pension. They should no longer have to file a tax return. The tax office sends them a ready-made proposal. Then they decide for themselves if it fits.

The Greens call for a reform of municipal financing with reliable basic funding and an area factor. Heavily indebted municipalities are to get relief through a legacy debt fund, and municipalities are to receive more revenue of their own.

The Greens want towns and villages to have more money. Municipalities with a lot of land should get extra money for it. There should be a fund for places with very high debts. Whoever gives municipalities tasks must also pay for them.

The Left wants to launch a Bundesrat initiative to bring back the wealth tax and to reform the inheritance and gift tax. Large fortunes are to contribute more to funding public tasks. The party aims to reduce inequality and raise money for municipalities and social infrastructure.

The Left wants a tax on large fortunes. People who own more than one million euros should pay one percent in tax. Large inheritances should also be taxed more. The money should help towns, cities and social services.

The Left wants to develop the Gewerbesteuer (local trade tax) into a municipal business tax that covers all income from self-employment. A uniform allowance of 24,500 euros is meant to protect small businesses. The party aims to strengthen municipal revenue and treat different forms of work equally.

Businesses today pay a trade tax to their town. Some self-employed people do not pay this tax. The Left wants to change that. All self-employed people should pay the new tax. Nobody should pay on the first 24,500 euros. This way, towns should get more money.

The Left wants to reshape the state's investment bank so that capital is steered democratically and directed into sustainable future projects. A regional investment fund is to give local actors a stake in the economy. The party considers investment in education, social infrastructure and climate protection worthwhile even when financed by borrowing.

The Left wants to change the state's investment bank. Citizens, towns and businesses should decide together about the money. A new fund should give local people a share in companies. The state should also be allowed to take on debt. The party wants to use the money for education, social services and climate protection.

The Left wants a state program for investment in climate protection, education, health care, and social participation. It accepts higher debt in the short term, which the party says will be offset later by tax changes and a stronger domestic economy.

The Left wants a big investment program. The money should go to schools, health care, and climate protection. The state would take on more debt at first. The party says this will balance out later.

The Left rejects any sale of public property without exception and wants to bring key infrastructure back under municipal ownership. It rules out cuts to social and environmental spending as well as job cuts in the public sector.

The Left does not want to sell public property. Important facilities should belong to towns and cities again. The party does not want to cut social or environmental spending. No public service jobs should be lost.

The Left wants to replace the large number of separate grant programs with a lump-sum allocation to municipalities. Municipalities are to decide for themselves how to use the money because, in the party's view, they know best what is needed locally.

Today towns must file separate applications for many projects. The Left wants to change that. Towns should get a fixed amount of money. They then decide themselves how to use it. Poor towns should get more.

The Left wants to redistribute money in favor of towns and cities and adapt the municipal fiscal equalization system to their tasks. The federal government and the state are to pay in full for tasks they hand down to municipalities.

The Left wants towns and cities to get more money. The federal government and the state give towns many tasks. They should then pay for these tasks in full. The money from the state should grow along with costs.

The Left calls for a debt cut for municipalities at the federal level. It says the old debts arose because municipalities had to carry out mandatory tasks without enough money; the party sees the responsibility with the federal government and the states.

Many towns have old debts. The Left wants the federal government to cancel these debts. The Left says the towns are not to blame for them. Without the debts, towns can build and repair more again.

The SPD does not want social security to be financed one-sidedly through labor. The state is to push at the federal level for very high capital income and large transfers of wealth to contribute more.

Today, mainly working people pay for social security. The SPD finds that one-sided. People who earn a lot from capital should pay more. The same goes for large inheritances and gifts. The state should push for this at the federal level.

The SPD wants to push at the federal level for tax and contribution relief for low-income households. To that end, the sales tax on basic foods and the electricity tax are to go down. The program justifies this with rising inequality and with the claim that full-time work does not pay enough because of high contributions.

People with little money should pay less in taxes and contributions. Basic foods and electricity should get cheaper. Mini-jobs should no longer exist in this form. Families with little money should get help buying a home.

To pay for the relief measures, the SPD wants to push at the federal level to scrap tax advantages for income from wealth and financial returns. Fortunes above 100 million euros are to be taxed at two percent. A tax on financial transactions is to be added.

Very rich people should pay more taxes. Anyone who owns more than 100 million euros should pay a 2 percent tax on it. Gains from stocks, rents and interest should be taxed like wages. The SPD wants to use the money to give other people relief.

The SPD wants to push in the Bundesrat for a new wealth tax, a revised inheritance tax and a levy on windfall profits during crises. The platform argues that the welfare state and the green transition need funding and that those who can afford more should contribute more.

The SPD wants a tax on large fortunes. Large inheritances should also be taxed more. The SPD wants to demand this in the Bundesrat. That is the chamber of the German states. The money should pay for the welfare state and climate action.

The SPD wants to press at the federal level for sparsely populated states to count for more in Germany's fiscal equalization system. The background is the expectation that Saxony-Anhalt could have fewer than two million residents in ten years.

German states share tax money with each other. The SPD wants more money for states with few people. Saxony-Anhalt is losing residents. Life should still be similarly good everywhere.

The SPD wants to keep the state budget sustainable in the long term, reduce debt and still make investment possible. Money from the federal special fund is to go mainly into education, health care, energy and digital networks.

The SPD wants to handle the state's money carefully. The state should pay down debt. But it should still be able to invest. Federal money should go to schools, health care, energy and internet. The state should keep saving for pensions of civil servants.

The SPD wants to stop paying for permanent tasks in social services, culture, education and youth welfare through short-term project grants. In the platform's view, the current practice creates uncertainty and makes planning harder.

Many social services only get money for short projects. The SPD wants to change that. Permanent tasks should get permanent money. Then the organizations can plan better. Applying for funding should become simpler and digital.

The SPD wants to design municipal fiscal equalization so that it covers the real tasks of municipalities. Municipalities should only be given new tasks if their funding is fully secured.

The state gives money to towns and villages. The SPD wants this money to match their tasks. New tasks should only come with enough money. Towns with high social costs should get extra help.

The SPD wants to reorganize financial relations between the federal government and the states so that municipalities receive a larger share of public revenue. A fluctuation fund and a permanent investment program are meant to give municipalities additional security.

The SPD thinks towns and villages get too little money. They should receive more of the taxes. A fund should help when revenue suddenly drops. A permanent program should provide money for schools, daycare centers and roads.