At the 21th IZA Tower Talk, Karl-Heinz Däke (President of the German Taxpayers' Association) called for a modernization of German tax law, particularly in view of the current economic crisis. He dismissed the argument that a reform should be postponed because tax revenues already go down as a result of the crisis. These forgone revenues are not losses, he explained, but merely deviations from estimates made before the recession. In fact, Germany’s total tax revenue in 2009 will still exceed the 2005 level by 70 billion euros. Däke therefore underscored his association’s call for additional tax breaks for individuals and enterprises: “Tax reductions can be an important asset in fighting the financial crisis.”
The federal government’s economic stimulus package was met with skepticism by Däke. While he viewed government intervention as inevitable, he criticized the subsidization of selected industries and the allocation of funds in many cases in which too little emphasis was placed on sustainability. In particular, medium-sized businesses as the "key players" in the German economy largely missed out on the stimulus plan, said Däke. |
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