German pensioners will probably have to pay 4.1 billion euros more taxes this year than in 2024. The amount of the levy will probably increase from EUR 58.6 to EUR 62.7 billionas indicated by the response of the Ministry of Finance to the question of Sahra Wagenknecht, Member of the Bundestag.
The ministry's response was made available to the German Press Agency in Berlin. It applies to the income tax of taxpayers who collect pensionsę and possibly also have other income, for example from work. In 2021, only PLN 51.4 billion was transferred to the state treasury euro. The following year it was EUR 54.8 billion, and in 2023 it was EUR 55.7 billion.
Germany. Pensions may increase by 3.5%.
The government's response shows that the number of pensioners who will be taxed for the first time in 2025 will probably be around 73,000. people. There will then be 6.578 million taxpayers receiving pensions and possibly also other income. However, the data provided by the ministry does not include information about pensioners who will be fully exempt from tax.
Wagenknecht asked how many additional pensioners would be subject to taxation if pension increases were expected will come in into force on July 1, 2025. According to initial official estimates from November last year, pensions are likely to increase by around 3.5 percent.
The inflation rate is below this figure, so German retirees should have slightly more money in their accounts as a result of the planned increase in pension benefits. However, it is not yet certain whether it will be exactly 3.5 percent more. Government will determine the amount of the raise in the spring. The latest data on the economic situation and wage trends will then be decisive.
Pensions in Germany. The MP criticizes taxation. “Disrespect”
Sahra Wagenknecht told the German Press Agency: “Pension tax is a tax of disrespect“. The recent legal changes were a “serious political mistake.” – Taxes are growing faster than pensions. The tax office can no longer cut the statutory pension – said the founder of the BSW party. Before elections to the Bundestag on February 23, Wagenknecht demanded “tax exemption for statutory pensions up to EUR 2,000.”
Other parties are also giving pensions an important role in their campaigns. On the day of the Bundestag's vote of confidence in the government in mid-December last year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised pension stability. On its website, the Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German Pension Insurance) refers to the latest rules on pension taxation.
Different tax burdens on the pensions of ordinary citizens and those of public servants are to be eliminated. Pensions are to be included in the deferred taxation system. Thanks to this, in the future pension contributions will be fully deductible from taxable income. In return, pensions must be fully taxed as income.
The transition to the new system will take decades. Pensioners who have been receiving a pension since 2012 must pay tax on 64 percent of their pension at their individual tax rate. This percentage gradually increases for each new age of retirees. However, many retirees still do not pay tax due to their tax breaks, as emphasized by the German Pension and Tax Insurance.
(DPA/like)
The article comes from the website Deutsche Welle