Income Tax - More Brandenburgers must pay taxes on their pensions
Potsdam (dpa/bb) – With a pension reduction of 4.57 percent as of July 1, approximately 4,000 pensioners in Brandenburg will have to pay Income Tax on their pensions. This means that the number of Brandenburg senior citizens subject to pension taxation will reach around 240,000, as stated in the Federal Government's response to a query by Bundestag member Sahra Wagenknecht, which is available to the German Press Agency.
However, around 8,000 Brandenburg pensioners were exempted from pension taxation at the beginning of this year due to an increase in the tax-free allowance by 6.38 percent to €11,604. According to earlier statements by the Federal Government in response to a query by Wagenknecht, even small pensions are now subject to taxation due to the pension reform of 2004. For example, someone retiring with a net monthly pension of €1,300 in 2023 will pay €127 to the tax office per year. With a net monthly pension of €1,800, €1,098 in taxes are due per year.
Wagenknecht: Pension taxation "shameful"
Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), the chairwoman of the Left Party (BSW), called the pension tax "one of the most unjust Taxes in Germany," which "additionally burdens the already too low pension level in Germany." "Decades of saving and paying in, then receiving a pension that is below average in Europe – and the tax office still holds out its hand," she said. The BSW, which Wagenknecht leads, demands that the statutory pension should remain tax-free up to €2,000.
- Sahra Wagenknecht, the chairwoman of the German Left Party (BSW), criticized the taxation of pensions, stating that it's one of the most unjust Taxes in Germany.
- According to the German Press Agency's report, the Federal Government revealed that around 240,000 senior citizens in Brandenburg will pay Income Tax on their pensions due to a pension reduction.
- Wagenknecht also called attention to the fact that the pension reform of 2004 led to small pensions being subject to taxation, with a person retiring with a net monthly pension of €1,300 in 2023 paying €127 to the tax office per year.
- The German Left Party, led by Wagenknecht, has proposed that the statutory pension should remain tax-free up to €2,000 to provide some relief for seniors dealing with rising costs, such as Rent increase.
- It's important to note that, at the beginning of this year, around 8,000 Brandenburg pensioners were exempted from pension taxation due to an increase in the tax-free allowance by 6.38 percent to €11,604.
