In the economy there is growing concern that the CDU and CSU are putting their plans for tax breaks in favor of companies on the back burner after the federal election.

Because CDU chancellor candidate Armin Laschet has now made such plans in view of the holes in the state coffers with strong reservations.

"Tax relief at the moment, we don't have the money," he said on Sunday evening on ARD.

But he also rejects tax increases because the economy must recover quickly.

Dietrich Creutzburg

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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This does not go far enough for the mechanical engineering association VDMA: "The next federal government is urgently called upon to make a significant contribution to more private investments through reforms in corporate tax law," warned Ralph Wiechers, member of the executive board. Only through growth can one secure employment in the long term and overcome the debt problem. The overall burden on companies "must be reduced noticeably in order to keep the economy competitive," he warned.

The Association of Catholic Entrepreneurs (BKU) also sees problems for the Union.

The “promise” to create a competitive corporate tax is important, emphasized the BKU chairman Ulrich Hemel.

However, the question of funding is unfortunately open, especially since the Union is also planning to relieve the burden on small and medium incomes and to abolish the “Soli”.

“It will be difficult to do all of this at the same time,” he emphasized.

In the election manifesto, the CDU and CSU announce, among other things, that they will strive for “competitive corporate taxation”.

"We want to cap the tax burden for profits that remain in the company to 25 percent in the future," because this creates investment and innovative strength.

In addition, more favorable depreciation rules and similar facilities are being planned.

However, in addition to the word “perspective”, the program contains a general funding reservation: “With the end of the corona pandemic, the public budget, including social security, will be hit by a cash fall” - and a “roadmap” will be drawn up on this basis. A touchstone will also be the handling of the CSU demand for higher maternal pensions: It is not part of the program. Accordingly, the relief of the companies should be given priority over the maternal pension.

Laschet's team-mate Friedrich Merz (CDU) also dampened hopes of rapid tax cuts on Monday. "We want to lower it as soon as possible," he said on Deutschlandfunk. In the current budget situation, however, that is not possible. The Federation of German Industries (BDI) had previously pointed out the conflicting goals of the Union and derived reservations from it against a hasty return to balanced budgets. However, the family business association now vehemently contradicted the BDI and praised the Union's intention to quickly reach the "black zero" again.