The Left Party goes into the election campaign with proposals for a fundamental change in the tax system.

"We are asking the question of distribution, and very fundamentally," said the top candidate and parliamentary group leader of the Left, Dietmar Bartsch, in his speech at the party congress on Sunday.

“We want a tax reform that will relieve the majority of the population”, that is, all those who earn less than 80,000 euros gross per year.

However, after the introduction of the left, all others should be asked to pay much more than before.

“We are ready to take on those in power,” said Bartsch, naming the Klatten family, which among other things holds shares in the automobile group BMW, as an example.

Corinna Budras

Business correspondent in Berlin.

  • Follow I follow

    The second top candidate and co-party leader, Janine Wissler, emphasized: “We need the wealth tax so that we can finance the infrastructure, education and a good health system.” She had previously said in an interview: “There is money like that in this country Hay. “In the Corona crisis, many became poorer, but few also became much richer.

    The super-rich should take responsibility

    The central component of the redistribution is a wealth tax with a progressive tariff of between 1 and 5 percent, as stated in the election manifesto that the left decided with the approval of 88 percent at its party congress. An allowance of 1 million euros is planned. The maximum rate of 5 percent should attack from a fortune of 50 million euros. In addition, there is a property levy with which the left wants to cover the billions in special expenses in the fight against the Corona crisis. The levy is intended for net assets of more than 2 million euros and is to be progressively staggered from 10 to 30 percent. According to the ideas of the left, it should not be due all at once, but rather be paid off in installments over a period of 20 years. "We want to finally take responsibility for the super-rich," said Bartsch.

    In terms of income tax, Die Linke is aiming for a tax rate of 53 percent, which should apply from a taxable income of 70,000 euros (equivalent to around 81,000 gross for a single).

    From around 261,000 euros, a wealth tax of 60 percent is to be levied, from more than 1 million euros then 75 percent.

    The left no longer wants to favor investment income.

    The program was supplemented by a discharge: The pacifist left advocates the abolition of the sparkling wine tax, which was introduced in 1902 to finance the imperial fleet of the German Empire.

    One euro more than the Greens

    The left, which is only 6 percent in current surveys, wants to give the wage development a real boost: The minimum wage is to rise from currently 9.50 euros to 13 euros, the unions are to be strengthened and collective bargaining coverage is to be increased. In addition, employees will only have to work four days instead of the previous five days with full wage compensation, and the vacation entitlement will be increased from 24 to 36 days. Hospital and care companies want to take the party off the stock exchange and transfer it to the public sector.

    The sometimes significant increase in rents is to be combated with a nationwide rent cap. The Berlin Senate had introduced such a cover in the capital, but ultimately failed because of the judges of the Federal Constitutional Court. They declared it null and void for formal reasons in April. In their decision, the judges had made it clear that a rent cap could not be introduced at state level because the federal government had sole legislative competence in this area. The left take this decision as an incentive. “Especially now,” said Wissler. The Berlin rent cap was an "act of self-defense" on the capital's dramatic housing market.

    The left declares the fight against climate change a "class question". He shouldn't burden the socially disadvantaged, instead corporations should be at the center of the dispute, emphasized Bartsch. "Above all, we are making politics for women polo drivers and not for Tesla fans." The left wants to make local public transport free of charge, and rail travel should become cheaper. Germany should be climate neutral by 2035 at the latest.