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“Lars Klingbeil is right,” says SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert on the proposal of the federal chairman of his party to replace the spouse splitting. © Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil uses the debate about cuts in parental benefits to bring up an old idea. This causes discussions in the coalition – and social organizations are also divided.
Berlin – The Secretary General of the SPD, Kevin Kühnert, has called on the coalition for an unprejudiced debate on the abolition of spouse splitting. “Replacing spouse splitting with a fairer form of income tax, at least for future marriages, would benefit the goals of equality and tax justice in equal measure,” said Kühnert of the German Press Agency. “Lars Klingbeil is right: the coalition should discuss this without prejudice.”
So far, the community has waived almost 20 billion euros per year by “allowing ourselves a tax privilege that keeps many women out of the labor market in particular,” said Kühnert. The initiative met with a mixed response from social organizations.
Klingbeil: “antiquated tax model”
In an interview, Klingbeil had proposed the abolition of spouse splitting for new marriages instead of saving on parental allowance. From his point of view, it would be good to put an end to this “antiquated tax model that favors the classic division of roles between men and women”.
With spouse splitting, the joint income of a couple is halved, the income tax due is calculated and the tax liability is then doubled. This is particularly useful for couples where one earns a lot and the other a little.
So far, parental allowance has been given to couples whose joint taxable income is less than 300,000 euros. As part of the budget planning for the coming year and the spending cuts to limit debts pushed by Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), the traffic light coalition is planning to lower this limit to 150,000 euros.
Social association calls for modern taxation
Michaela Engelmeier, CEO of the Social Association Germany, told the Funke media group that the current regulation was “not optimally designed in terms of equality policy”. The tax advantages mean that women usually reduce their employment significantly. She called for a contemporary taxation of spouses.
Ulrich Schneider, Managing Director of the Parity Welfare Association, was critical of Klingbeil’s proposal. “Abolishing the spouse splitting, which is also relevant for many families with average and low incomes, in order to finance the parental allowance for the best earners, of all things, seems poorly thought out and would be a redistribution from bottom to top,” he told the editorial network Germany (RND). .
Massive criticism from the FDP
Klingbeil defended his stance last night on ZDF’s “Heute Journal”. He emphasized that his proposal refers to future marriages. “I think it’s part of a modern family policy, a modern equality policy, that you question it. We already did that during the coalition negotiations.” It is part of a coalition to constructively discuss different ideas.
His proposal met with massive criticism from the FDP. FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr emphasized that the marriage splitting derives from the Basic Law, which places marriage under special protection. “That’s why it has to stay,” he told the RND. dpa