It was clearly the defender and not the current finance minister who spoke: the SPD chancellor’s candidate, Olaf Schultz, promised a fixed pension level of 48 per cent. “Every shareholder should be prepared by the CDU/CSU government that the level of the pension will go down,” said Schultz of Bild am Sonntag. “It won’t happen to me. I guarantee a stable retirement level of 48 percent.”
The SPD candidate said he did not share any reservations about funding in the coming decades. “If there are many jobs with decent pay in Germany, the pension is safe. It’s all about this.”
In response to a Federal Finance Court ruling on double taxation, Schulze wants both shareholders and retirees to be exempt: “First of all, I don’t want to make contributions to pension insurance fully tax-deductible until 2025, but first. Second, I want to pay taxes Full pension back – it should come into effect only in 2060 and not, as previously planned, in 2040. This helps both contributors and pensioners.
According to the plans, only the highest individual tax rate of €100,000 annual gross income should apply. “I think it’s right for someone with such a high income to pay more in taxes,” Schultz said, according to the report. Therefore singles must pay the “future highest rate” of an annual gross income of over €100,000 and married couples of €200,000.
According to Schulze, almost all taxpayers will be exempted from the concept of the SPD tax, and only those with higher incomes like him will have to pay more: “With an average income, tax savings are from 75 to 150 euros per year.” Those who earn €3,000 total savings of around €75 per year in taxes, the federal finance minister said. • 96 percent of taxpayers will be exempted. For the top four percent of high-income earners, that’s a good million, and it’s going to be a little more expensive.”
The minister gave his annual gross salary of €200,000 and stated: “On my salary, you are rich in Germany.”