Taxes - Taxpayers' Association: Citizens work for the state until July 11
Citizens in Germany work for the state treasury up to Thursday of this year, according to the Taxpayers' Association. The "Taxpayers' Memorial Day," as labeled by the association, falls on July 11th. This applies to an average household with 2.3 persons, which derives its income from employment. For singles, the tax burden is higher, while for single parents it is lower. The "Memorial Day" has been around the July middle in recent years, and last year it fell on July 9th.
Few European countries with higher burden
According to the data, 47.4 cents out of every Euro of labor income remain. Thirty-one-point-seven cents go towards social contributions, with the rest towards various taxes and fees. An average working household pays 52.6% of its income to the state. For singles, this percentage is higher in Belgium in the European comparison, and for families in Belgium and France. The burden, according to the data, decreased by approximately 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous year.
Data from the Year 2022 calculated by the Taxpayers' Association
Apart from taxes, social contributions, and "quasi-taxes" are also included in the quote. By this, the association means levies that citizens cannot avoid, even though they are not taxes - for example, the broadcasting contribution and CO2 charges on fuel and heating, which are intended to promote climate-friendly behavior. This is common practice and is also followed by the Statistical Federal Office or the OECD, according to Matthias Warneke from the German Taxpayers' Institute.
Criticism of the "Memorial Day"
Critics complain that in these calculations, the state's counter-contribution for paid taxes and social contributions is not taken into account. Without this, citizens would have to pay a significant amount of money for health insurance, for example. Social contributions are returned to the payers in the form of pensions, among other things.
The association's president, Reiner Holznagel, emphasized that it should not give the impression that all taxes and fees are wasted or misused by the 11th of July. "Through tax payments and fees, we finance a strong and social safety net. Therefore, a significant portion is returned to citizens directly through state benefits, social security claims, and welfare," he said.
However, there is significant room for "efficiency gains." "We have countless health insurance funds, and we have large administrative units," Holznagel said. First and foremost, the Taxpayers' Association aims to promote transparency. However, much more needs to be said about tax relief. Everything should be done to reduce the tax burden below 50%.
- In Germany, single parents face a lower tax burden compared to singles, as revealed in the data calculated by the Taxpayers' Association for the year 2022.
- Contrastingly, Belgian singles bear a higher tax burden compared to their counterparts in other European countries, as per the data provided by the association.
- The German Taxpayers' Institute's Matthias Warneke mentioned that apart from taxes, social contributions and "quasi-taxes" like broadcasting contributions and CO2 charges are also included in the association's calculations.
- Despite the Taxpayers' Association's focus on promoting transparency and reducing the tax burden, they aim to achieve a point where the tax burden is below 50%, as asserted by the association's president, Reiner Holznagel.
