A few years (decades) ago, those who “earned good money” enjoyed a tax relief. Today, more and more people think said tax relief was too much. Well, perhaps they are right.
And consequently, there are a number of initiatives and parties that now write into their programs that the affluent and better-earning citizens (who actually, like Uli Hoeneß, stayed, instead of emigrating like our “Emperor” Beckenbauer, Mr. Müller of Müller Milch and Schumi) should pay more taxes in the future.
The Green Party and the SPD want to increase the top income tax rate and save the FRG from capitalism. I think these, too, are things we have to live with.
But we should avoid a mistake that is made again and again: if you define in numbers from which amount of money on some income and/or property should be subjected to extra tax, then you should not see those numbers as something inflexible. Instead, they should be potentially changeable from the outset. For instance by automatically linking them with the inflation rate.
Otherwise, the same problem will probably be recurring in no time at all. To be sure, the “official” inflation rate seems to be harmless, but money loses its value at more than high speed. You can prove this with many examples in quite a trivial way. And what happens overnight? – You will have to change the tax system again, because all of a sudden the “average earners” will have been sliding into a tax situation that is not tolerable for them.
RMD
(Translated by EG)