Another go-round in the budget brawl: A face-off between CDU parliamentary group leader Mario Voigt and Thuringia's Bodo Ramelow, Prime Minister hailing from the Left Party, is set for this Thursday. These two are scheduled to hammer out a compromise on the 2024 budget, following their initial meeting last Friday. Voigt and Ramelow are supposedly bent on striking a deal, potentially enabling a budget vote in the state parliament on December 20 and 21, as stated by CDU and government reps based in Erfurt on Tuesday.
The rub? Ramelow's red-red-green coalition relies on support from the CDU, the state's largest opposition, to pass the budget. That’s because the left-leaning coalition lacks their own commanding majority in the Thuringian parliament.
Voigt provided a hint of the CDU's budget expectations, mentioning the need to preserve financial reserves for 2024 and demanding an additional €60 million to maintain a state program serving small municipalities.
At a cabinet gathering on Tuesday, state governance minster Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff shared plans for a directive regulating the purchase of first-time residential properties by families. This proposed measure aims to settle the dispute concerning reduced real estate transfer tax, with the government objecting to family-related provisions within the draft legislation.
Back in November, the government presented a series of compromises to the CDU, including dropping a proposed constitutional complaint on the reduced real estate transfer tax to 5.0% – an invitation to talks by Voigt followed.
That said, the CDU's specific budget demands, apart from those hinted at by Voigt, remain unspecified. Meanwhile, the red-red-green coalition's compromise strategy is also left to our collective imaginations. Regardless, the standoff between Voigt and Ramelow threatens to shape the future of Thuringia's budget for 2024.
Additional context: In larger budget disputes at the federal level in Germany, the CDU often champions supply-side policies. Recommending measures such as wealthier citizens and businesses enjoying lower taxes and business tax relief to boost competitiveness, as well as turning overtime hours tax-free and readjusting Germany's income tax brackets. The CDU's demands likely reflect similar fiscal policies to further warrant their support for Thuringia's budget.
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Enrichment data: The specific budget demands of the CDU parliamentary group in the ongoing Thuringian budget dispute are elusive. The red-red-green coalition's stance tries to balance between various parties, with negotiations potentially addressing social spending, economic growth, and environmental concerns. The actual nature of negotiations and CDU's demands remain a mystery, given the scant information from public sources.
