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Berlin (German news agency) – The FDP has called for a taboo-free debate about cuts in the federal budget for the coming year and does not exclude statutory services. “Expenditure, performance laws, subsidies – there must be no taboos when it comes to consolidation,” said FDP chief housekeeper Otto Fricke of the “Rheinische Post” (Friday edition).
“Drawing red lines doesn’t get us any further. Of course there is the option of a budgetary law that would include the reduction of statutory benefits,” said Fricke. “After 16 years of CDU-led government, it will be possible to find expenditure that a traffic light coalition can do without,” said the FDP politician. At the same time, he was open to suggestions for improving tax revenues. “If there are proposals from the Greens for additional tax revenue, we will also talk about it,” said Fricke. “Purely as an example: All three coalition partners would have to agree to an extension of the temporary reduction in VAT for restaurants, if one did not, the federal government and especially the federal states would automatically have additional income,” said Fricke. “With the heating law, we have to look at how we finance the promotion of heating replacement. If we do a lot about tax relief, tax revenue will fall. If we make more of the climate and transformation fund, the core budget will be spared.”
The Federal Ministry of Finance had put the need for consolidation in the 2024 budget at around 20 billion euros.