Berlin.
According to a decision by the Federal Fiscal Court, the solidarity surcharge is constitutional. This has consequences for millions of taxpayers.
Heavy damper for millions of taxpayers: The Federal Fiscal Court has filed a lawsuit against the solidarity surcharge rejected. According to the highest German finance court, the levy is not unconstitutional.
This means that people with very high incomes must continue to pay the solos. The state does not have to forego income in the tens of billions. At the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe but another lawsuit is pending – of all things from the party of the incumbent finance minister Christian Lindner (FDP). The most important questions at a glance:
What exactly did the Federal Fiscal Court decide?
The Munich judges consider the solidarity surcharge to be rightfully. They thus dismissed a lawsuit brought by a couple from Bavaria who, with the support of the taxpayers’ association, had sued against the payment of the surcharge in 2020 and 2021. The plaintiffs put forward two key arguments: the purpose of the solis had been lost. In addition, the fact that only a small minority has to pay the levy violates the principle of equality in the Basic Law.
What is the soli anyway and who has to pay it?
The solidarity surcharge is a 5.5 percent surcharge on income tax. It was introduced in 1991 to finance German unity. In 2019, this purpose will end with the expiration of the Solidarity Pact II omitted. Since then, there has been no special funding from the East German states.
However, the then grand coalition of Union and SPD could not agree on a complete abolition of the solo. It fell away for most taxpayers in 2020 – but not for them top ten percent with particularly high incomes. Also interesting: Retirement provision: This is how you can use the loss of the solo
That was important to the SPD and to the Federal Finance Minister at the time, Olaf Scholz, who is Chancellor today. The Federal Fiscal Court argued on Monday that the Solidarity Pact II had been dropped. However, the federal government has explained conclusively that reunification will continue to cause higher financial requirements.
How many people still have to pay the solos?
It is estimated that still 2.5 million taxpayers are affected. For single people, the Soli is due from an annual income tax of 17,534 euros. For married couples, the limit is 35,086 euros. But then the full solo does not have to be paid, it is rather a sliding zone. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, taxable income had to be more than 96,800 euros (singles) or 193,600 euros (married couples) in 2022 for the full amount to be due.
How much money does the solo bring in to the state?
the federal revenue from the solidarity surcharge amounted to eleven billion euros. With the elimination of the solis for the majority of taxpayers in 2020, the state previously lost revenue of a similar magnitude.
What is the position of the incumbent federal government on the solos?
She has no unanimous position on this. SPD and Greens are of the opinion that strong shoulders should carry more than weaker ones and that people with very high incomes should therefore be involved more in financing the community. The party leader and Finance Minister Lindner sees it differently. She advocates complete abolition.
When the Liberals were still the opposition party in the Bundestag, they complained to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe that the solos had not been eliminated for all taxpayers. This Lawsuit is still pending. In the proceedings before the Federal Fiscal Court in Munich, the FDP-led Ministry of Finance refrained from defending the current legal situation.
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