Financial crisis tests German solidarity
Germany’s solidarity tax, introduced after the country’s post-Cold-War reunification, has long been a subject of heated debate. Many in eastern part of the country claim they are burdened by it, and have proposed abolishing the tax.
Some Germans are calling on the government to lift the
middle-class tax, known as ‘soli,’ under which certain taxpayers
are charged an additional 5.5 percent of their yearly tax bill as a
solidarity tax.
Over the last 20 years, states in post-Soviet eastern Germany have
received billions of euros in taxpayer money to aid development
following reunification. But these days, more and more taxpayers in
the former West Germany are saying enough is enough, and complain
that they have been paying too much for too long.
However, the solidarity pact is set to remain in force until 2019,
at which point western Germany will have contributed hundreds of
billions of euros.
RT’s Peter Oliver went to Germany’s Ruhr Region, home to the
country’s coal-mining industry, to find out that the main cities in
the area face mounting debts, and are struggling to live up their
commitments under the solidarity pact.
As major cities in the Ruhr region sink further into the red, those
in western Germany insist that the eastern regions must alleviate
their suffering before it is too late.
“Right now, we should be at the front of the line when it comes
to financial help from the state,” several Germans told
RT.