A new study has found that many Germans think that there is widespread acceptance for financing government spending through taxes. People in Brazil and Montenegro are far more skeptical about their fellow citizens.
Image: picture-alliance/imageBROKER/M. Weber
Advertisement
People in Germany believe their fellow citizens are happier to pay taxes for public spending than people in many other countries, a United Nations-backed study has found.
The Switzerland-based Basel Institute of Commons and Economics published the scores of 14 countries on how willing people thought their fellow citizens were on a scale of 1-10 to spend tax money on infrastructure, healthcare, education and other goods:
Germany: 7.0
Cambodia: 6.7
Austria: 6.4
Kosovo: 5.6
Bangladesh: 5.5
The remaining countries were: Pakistan: 5.2; Afghanistan: 5.2; Nepal: 4.9; Bosnia Herzegovina: 4.7; Albania: 4.5; Serbia: 4.1; Montenegro: 3.9; Brazil: 3.4; and Macedonia: 3.2.
How were the scores calculated? The institute calculated the national score based on a survey of more than 16,000 respondents in 141 countries, Alexander Dill, the director of the institute, told DW. Respondents were asked to each score their own country on whether "people accept taxes and contributions to finance public goods" between 1 and 10.
What will the data be used for? The institute conducted the study over three years on behalf of the United Nations to ascertain peoples' acceptance for spending public money on the global body's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It plans to publish the results of all countries surveyed in March.
Calls for investment: Strong economic growth and low unemployment helped Germany record a €48.1 billion budget surplus in the first six months of 2018. That favorable position has split political opinion on what the government should do with the extra cash. Lawmakers from the Greens and the Left Party want more investment, while center-right lawmakers from the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) want tax cuts.
How to waste taxpayers' money in Germany
Shiny pigs, gilded houses, and a viewing platform in the middle of nowhere all triggered complaints from the German Taxpayers Federation. The group listed some of the more egregious cases in its annual "black book."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
When glitterpigs fly
German taxpayers paid €100,000 ($117,000) for the floating sculpture of this "Glitzerschwein" (glitter pig) to be installed in Halle, southern Germany. The half-tonne sculpture was elected by city officials as a symbol of Halle's history — a herd of pigs supposedly helped discover the first salt deposit in the city. The crystals symbolize grains of salt.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
Too much money, too little view
The town of Brakel near Paderborn first decided to build a fish ladder on its local stream. Then, the city officials also built a €6,200 platform for the visitors. bringing them literally a step closer to nature.
Image: Bund der Steuerzahler NRW/Bärbel Hildebrandt
Solar-powered garbage disposal
The city of Potsdam has started introducing new, Swiss-made, solar-powered trash cans at a cost of €10,500 each. The can has a built-in garbage press which expands its storage capacity, and an electronic "fullness" indicator. Still, its price tag is a far cry from traditional dumpsters, which cost about €300 apiece.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Hirschberger
Now a shiny eyesore
An artistic statement or a waste of money? A local artist gilded a large house in a struggling part of Hamburg, covering an area of some 300 square meters (3,230 square feet) with real gold leaves. Cultural authorities donated over €85,600 for the project.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/B. Marks
Ghost car park
The public garage in downtown Winsen, near Hamburg, has been open for months. Still, the building's 534 parking spots are mostly unused and all but the ground-floor level are unsettlingly empty. The town paid almost €11 million to build the garage, and it will continue to cover the business deficit in the years to come.
Image: Bund der Steuerzahler
Lime tree squared
This 400-year-old lime tree in Oberursel near Frankfurt is dying. Local officials have decided to say goodbye to it by making it a part of an art project titled "The passage of time." The celebrity tree will be enclosed in a metal frame with no glass. The price is €77,000, plus a negligible opportunity cost in lost firewood.
Image: Bund der Steuerzahler
More MPs, more problems
Thanks to Germany's electoral system and September's unusually diverse results, the new parliament is set to have over 700 members, or about 100 more than usual. The bump will force another €75 million out of citizens' pockets in 2018 alone, says the German Taxpayers Federation.
