The Finance Ministry gives Families Minister Pauss a basket
**The effect of marriage splitting is controversial. The accusation is often made that it only benefits traditional marriages. The Federal Government intends to reform tax classes. Family Minister Lisa Paus believes in this context that an end to splitting - incorrectly, as it turns out.
With the planned tax class reform by the Federal Government, Family Minister Lisa Paus is paving the way for the abolition of marriage splitting, according to her statement in the "Bild" newspaper. "The departure from the outdated instrument of marriage splitting is overdue," confirmed the Green politician. "It is an instrument that only financially rewards traditional marriage. And that, although diverse family models have long been part of our social reality." The FDP-led Finance Ministry rejected Paus' statements directly: The splitting procedure remains in place.
There have been discussions about marriage splitting for years. In this procedure, the joint income of a couple is calculated halved, the income tax is calculated based on that, and the tax debt is then doubled. This benefits taxwise mainly couples where one earns much and the other earns little. This is justified by the special protection of marriage and family.
With the draft of the second tax law for 2024, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner brought a reform of tax classes on the way. In their coalition agreement, SPD, Greens, and FDP agreed that instead of tax classes 3 and 5, the so-called factor method should be used in tax class 4 in the future. This would distribute the income tax burden more fairly between spouses, partners, and cohabitants, according to the draft law.
Paus said, "This is also the starting point for the abolition of marriage splitting." However, the Finance Ministry sees it differently. "The opposite assessment of Minister Paus is the case," it was stated. "There are no plans or even political will for abolition. Minister Paus speaks only for the Greens."**
- Despite the Green Party's Family Minister Lisa Paus advocating for the abolition of marriage splitting in the context of the tax class reform, the FDP-led Finance Ministry has maintained that the splitting procedure will continue as it currently stands.
- The planned tax reform by the Federal Government, as outlined in the draft of the second tax law for 2024 by Finance Minister Christian Lindner, includes the use of the factor method in tax class 4 instead of tax classes 3 and 5, with the intention of distributing the income tax burden more fairly among spouses and partners, potentially challenging the controversial practice of marriage splitting.
- The politics surrounding tax reform and marriage splitting have been a topic of debate for years, with critics arguing that the marriage splitting procedure only financially benefits traditional marriages at the expense of diverse family models.
