Economist Monika Schnitzer sees little potential for economic recovery in the coalition’s recent decisions – and criticizes the fact that money is flowing to the groups that shout the most. Ultimately there has to be a certain cut for everyone.
“Economic methods” Monika Schnitzer criticizes the decision of the black-red coalition to stimulate the economy. Deals like those recently reached in coalition committees are always easier to achieve when money is shared. “And perhaps also for groups that don’t necessarily need it, but are really calling for this,” said economists in the “heute journal” ZDF, with the aim of, for example, a reduction in aviation taxes or a planned reduction in VAT in the catering industry.
“So right now you have to ask yourself why you would spend money on something like that. It’s not going to accelerate growth,” said the chairman of the Advisory Council for the Assessment of Overall Economic Development, the official name for the committee of “economic wise men.”
Schnitzer advocates that ultimately there should be some cuts for everyone. “And if you distribute it fairly, then it will work. But of course that is a more difficult task.” According to Schnitzer, what is in the current budget plan is actually not ideal. Money also has to flow out at some point to be effective. “So in this case, this also really depends on accelerating planning and implementation.” Some things in the budget plan are actually ineffective for growth.
“Currently it is not going in the right direction”
From an economist’s point of view, electricity taxes, for example, should be reduced for everyone. “We are thinking about small businesses. But when it comes to electromobility, for example, we are also thinking about the fact that refueling and charging will have to become cheaper.” Anyone providing charging stations and electricity is currently not benefiting from low electricity prices.
“In this case, we are not going in the right direction at this time,” Schnitzer said. Energy overall needs to be cheaper and investment needs to be made in network expansion: “These are sensible infrastructure measures and can easily be justified through debt financing.”
The Black-Red Coalition wants to reduce ticket taxes in the aviation industry by July 1 2026. The amount is around 350 million euros for the benefit of the aviation industry in Germany. The airline industry has long called for a reduction in aviation taxes. Lower, state-subsidized industrial electricity prices will also apply from January 1, 2026 to 2028.
dpa/dp
