Turn of the year - Bremen's head of government calls for reform of the debt brake
Bremen's head of government Andreas Bovenschulte believes that the debt brake needs to be reformed. "We need a way of dealing with the debt brake that makes investments possible and not impossible - and to the extent required," the SPD politician told the German Press Agency (dpa). "It is crazy that investments for projects with a lifespan of 30 or 50 years have to be financed from current revenues over one, two or three years." The reform of the debt brake urgently needs to be driven forward, he said. "But I have my doubts as to whether this will work in the short term."
The debt brake stipulates that federal and state budgets must be balanced without income from loans. According to the Basic Law, the debt brake can be suspended in the event of natural disasters or other extraordinary emergencies if the state's financial situation is significantly impaired. The debt brake was recently suspended again for the current year - for the fourth time in a row. The FDP in particular, with Finance Minister Christian Lindner, has so far been very cautious on the subject. The SPD and Greens, on the other hand, are calling for a comprehensive reform.
Bovenschulte made it clear that, in his opinion, no permanent debt should be taken on for consumer spending such as rent, office supplies or staff. "This may be the case in exceptional emergencies, but under no circumstances should it become the norm. There is no blessing in that."
Instead, Bovenschulte suggested taxing wealth and high incomes more heavily in future. "Especially in difficult times, strong shoulders have to bear more of the burden and there is still room for improvement when it comes to very large assets and very high incomes," said the 58-year-old.
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Source: www.stern.de
