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Hardly any other figure shows the lack of willingness to reform on the part of the CDU, CSU and SPD as impressively as this one: the rate for taxes and social contributions has now reached 41.3 percent.
Since the year 2000, the state has not had as much access to private incomes.
And it won't stop there.
The abolition of the solidarity surcharge for large parts of the population will only bring relief for a short time.
The cost of the pandemic and aging society will continue to drive the stake up.
Now it is taking its revenge that the grand coalition over the years mainly enjoyed distributing social benefits for individual groups of voters.
Mother's pension and retirement at 63 are among the most costly decisions under Chancellor Angela Merkel.
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If there was not enough money from the social security contributions, the government unabashedly reached into the tax coffers.
The pension subsidies from tax money have already risen to more than 100 billion euros a year - it will soon be 120 billion euros.
That has to stop.
The next federal government must finally muster up the courage for reforms that deserve this name.
The fact that the CDU chairman Armin Laschet announced that he would like to answer the pension question anew in a “great overall social consensus” sounds like the all-too-familiar principle that we will take care of it later.
The Union and all other parties now have to give clear answers in the federal election campaign on how they want to finance the lavish welfare state in the future.
Ducking away for another four years and letting the tax burden rise to ever new highs cannot be the solution again.