Overview
- The paper proposes bringing forward a corporate tax reduction currently scheduled to fall from 15% to 10% in five steps starting in 2028, with the CDU not naming a new start date as the CSU presses for retroactive relief from Jan. 1, 2026.
- The plan would simplify business taxation by streamlining the trade tax, removing add-backs and allowances, and aligning its base with income and corporate taxes while easing corporate tax law.
- The draft targets a 25% cut in compliance costs through yearly “bureaucracy rollback” laws, including repealing the national supply-chain law, the paper receipt mandate, and certain company officer requirements, and by avoiding national rules that go beyond EU minimums.
- Labor and household measures include a mid-term income tax cut for low and middle earners, tax-free overtime premiums, and more flexible earnings rules for recipients of the new basic security.
- Additional steps in the package include reversing the most recent air-traffic tax increase and seeking proposals to curb incentives for early retirement via the pension commission.