Status: 13.09.2021 3:05 p.m.
Union Chancellor candidate Laschet goes on the offensive with an “immediate program” in the final spurt of the election campaign. Laschet promises relief for families, employees and the middle class as well as a reduction of bureaucracy for companies.
Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet has presented an “immediate program” in the event of his election as Federal Chancellor. “I want to enforce all of this immediately after taking office as Federal Chancellor,” said Laschet in Berlin. The program should be processed in the first 100 days of a government led by him.
More money for families
The families are at the top of the agenda: The Union wants to keep the splitting of spouses. The basic allowance of a child should be adjusted to the level of an adult, the child benefit should be adjusted. For single parents, the tax exemption is to be increased to 5000 euros. The Union promises a basic allowance of 250,000 euros per adult and 100,000 euros per child for the first purchase of a home.
With regard to rents, the Union wants an increase in housing benefits. In the case of caring relatives, the own share should be capped at 700 euros.
Kristin Schwietzer, ARD Berlin, on the “immediate program” of Chancellor candidate Laschet
tagesschau24 1:00 p.m., 13.9.2021
Income tax relief
Laschet promises that there will be an income tax relief for middle and low incomes. For employees, the lump sum should increase to 1250 euros. For mini-jobbers, the amount increases from 450 euros to 550 euros.
Higher penalties for attacks on security forces
In addition, the security at train stations is to be increased: Laschet wants to install 1000 new video cameras. In addition, the minimum sentence for physical attacks on security forces is to be increased to six months in prison, and for insidious attacks to one year in prison.
With the climate protection package, the Union also promises an interest-free KfW loan for solar roofs. Anyone who invests in air conditioning technology can better deduct this for tax purposes.
More jobs and no tax increases
In addition, the candidate for chancellor wants to create more jobs. He gives the guarantee for medium-sized businesses, crafts and family businesses: There are no tax increases. The additional wage costs should remain capped at 40 percent.
Strong criticism from economists
Experts criticize the CDU “immediate program”. According to economists, it would tear big holes in the national budget. It contains a number of expensive promises – from capping the personal contribution in nursing to assuming the cost of master training, said the professor of economics at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Jens Südekum, the Reuters news agency.
At the same time, tax relief would be promised, for example by increasing the child allowance. “The financing of these measures is completely unclear,” said Südekum, who is a member of the scientific advisory board of the Federal Ministry of Economics. “There will be budget holes in the double-digit billion range. It is not realistic to want to make up for these through economic growth alone.”
Higher Debt?
The Union must therefore openly say that it will continue to rely on higher debts in the years to come. That would be justifiable in the current market situation with negative interest rates, but has so far been strictly rejected by the Union. “If your immediate program is to be realistic, the Union must rethink its position on the debt brake,” said Südekum. When it comes to the central issue of climate protection, the immediate program is also not convincing. “Low-interest KfW loans for solar roofs will not be enough to achieve the climate goals, especially if the commuter allowance is to be increased at the same time,” said the economist.