You're single with no kids and thinking about working in Germany? Move and your tax burden will be 15 percentage points higher than the average among rich-income countries, according to a new study.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Kalaene
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Germany has the second-highest tax burden for single earners among high-income countries, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said on Thursday.
The news has come amid a large budget surplus in Germany and no plans under the new coalition government to drastically change personal income taxes.
In its "Taxing Wages" report, the OECD calculated the "net personal average tax rate" (NPATR) to determine a country's tax burden. The NPATR equals the sum of personal income tax plus social security contributions minus cash benefits as a percentage of gross earnings.
Single earners in Germany who have no children had the second-highest NPATR in the OECD at 39.9 percent.
Belgium took the top spot with a NPATR of 40.5 percent, while Chile had the lowest rate with 7 percent. The OECD average was 25.5 percent.
German earners whose spouse didn't work and who had two children had an NPATR of 21.7 percent.
Turkey had the highest one-earner family NPATR at 25.9 percent, while one-earner families in Poland actually earned money from the government with a negative NPATR of -4.8. The OECD average for this category was 14 percent.
Coalition to stay on course: German Chancellor Angela Merkel'sconservatives and the Social Democrats, which formed a new government in March, have not planned major changes to Germany's income taxes. The biggest shake-up in their coalition agreement was the staged reduction of the "Solidarity Tax" used to help the former East Germany rebuild its economy after reunification.
Germany's boom: In 2017, Germany posted a budget surplus of €36.6 billion ($44.9 billion) amid strong economic growth and record low unemployment.
Expert calls for tax cuts: The chairman of the German Council of Economic Experts, Christoph Schmidt, has called on the German government to take advantage of the country's budget surplus to cut taxes rather than increase spending. He told weekly magazine FOCUS in mid-April: "It's problematic that the government places a higher priority on new spending programs than long due [tax] relief."
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.
