With the votes of the CDU, AfD and FDP, the Thuringian state parliament passed a tax cut – and thus outvoted the red-red-green government. This makes serious accusations against the CDU – the Christian Democrats defend their actions.
The opposition pushed through a tax cut in Thuringia against the will of the red-red-green government. A CDU bill for a lower real estate transfer tax received a majority in the state parliament in Erfurt because, alongside the FDP, the AfD contributed the decisive votes.
The tax cut was passed with 46 votes to 42. The government factions of the Left, the Greens and the SPD voted against it – they had previously sharply criticized the fact that the CDU was consciously accepting the AfD’s approval.
The red-red-green coalition accused the CDU of giving the AfD the power to have concrete influence on the state budget for the first time in the Thuringian state parliament. The CDU is beginning to “actually set in motion a small government coalition in the opposition, including the AfD,” said Left parliamentary group leader Steffen Dittes.
Criticism also from the federal level
Politicians beyond Thuringia’s borders also criticized the CDU’s actions. “Today’s vote in the Erfurt state parliament was not an accident,” said SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert ARD capital studio. The CDU in Thuringia has clearly agreed to this. “This is a new quality in German parliamentarism that has never existed before.” He fears that parliamentarism will be different after today if this becomes common practice in the CDU. “Democrats must never make the AfD the parliamentary tipping point.”
Green Party federal manager Emily Büning spoke of a “drastic shift” that would have an impact far beyond the state borders of Thuringia. Merz clearly tolerated this, even though he had repeatedly publicly ruled out any cooperation between the CDU and the AfD. “Now he has to ask himself whether his word still counts,” said Büning.
CDU defends approach
Thuringia’s CDU state party and parliamentary group leader Mario Voigt defended his actions. “I cannot make good, important decisions for the Free State, relief for families and the economy, dependent on the wrong people agreeing,” he said after the relevant law was passed. For him it is important that the content is convincing.
Shortly before the vote, Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left) invited Voigt to talk about alternatives to family support. The state parliament session was temporarily interrupted due to constitutional concerns regarding passages of the CDU law. The government has had time to make proposals since March, replied Voigt. The opposition voted against referring the law back to the budget committee.
The CDU federal chairman Friedrich Merz defended the actions of the Thuringian CDU parliamentary group before the vote. “We do not make what we discuss in the state parliaments and the German Bundestag dependent on other factions,” said Merz on RTL/ntv. There will be no cooperation with the AfD at the federal or state level. “It stays that way.”
Höcke: “Good day for Thuringia”
Thuringia’s AfD parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke was satisfied with the result of the vote. “This is simply a good day for Thuringia, this is pragmatic politics,” he said. It is an “old AfD project”; his group had already submitted a similar proposal to parliament in 2018. At that time it was rejected.
Tino Chrupalla also commented on this. “When it comes to the interests of the citizens, it is not important who votes with whom. It is important that a majority is achieved,” he told the ARD capital studio. “The CDU and AfD have torn down the firewall in Thuringia.”
The Thuringian AfD is classified and monitored by the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution as definitely right-wing extremist.
Real estate transfer tax should fall to five percent
The CDU wants to reduce the property transfer tax in Thuringia from 6.5 to five percent. She points out that families should be reimbursed the property transfer tax up to a certain maximum amount when purchasing their own home for the first time. According to forecasts by the government coalition, the state budget is missing between 48 and 60 million euros annually. It is unclear how this should be compensated.
The majority situation in the Thuringian state parliament is difficult: Ramelow’s red-red-green coalition has not had its own majority since taking office in 2020 – it is four votes short in parliament. She is always dependent on compromises when making decisions – so far especially with the CDU. Therefore, what happened in the state parliament today is “by no means a novelty,” reported MDR reporter Lars Singer. In the past, the red-red-green minority government was only able to push through projects because the AfD agreed.