Schroeder to try tax cuts in Germany

[HolyWarrior]

Kansas City Star

German Leader to Speed Up Tax Cuts STEPHEN GRAHAM Associated Press BERLIN - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Sunday announced plans for a euro25 billion ($28.5 billion) tax cut next year to send a "signal of revival" to Germans unsettled by cuts to the nation's generous welfare state. "Reforms sometimes hurt, but they also pay off," Schroeder said after his Cabinet approved the move during a three-day retreat at an 18th-century manor house outside the capital. Schroeder is turning to tax cuts in the hope of bolstering weak growth. Germany's economy is in its third year of near-zero growth, and actually shrank 0.2 percent in the first quarter, helping to push unemployment to over 10 percent. Schroeder said the tax proposal, which would see the final step of a 2001-2005 tax relief plan combined with a euro7 billion ($8 billion) cut already slated for Jan. 1 next year, would be a welcome boost for the economy, which the government hopes will expand by 2 percent next year. Schroeder has already announced cuts in jobless benefits and health care programs jointly financed by firms and workers, a move supposed to leave companies with more funds for investment. His center-left government is also cutting red-tape that makes it hard for firms to fire staff. Industry says the restrictions makes them reluctant to hire in the first place. The tax cuts, which also benefit small businesses, would reduce the top rate of income tax from 48.5 to 42 percent and the bottom rate from 19.9 percent to 15 percent

Hey, if Schroeder can get it right, why can't the Democrats? [img]graemlins/stunned.gif[/img]
For running on an anti-American platform, he's sure acting like one.

[Faceman]

what the article doesn't say is that Schroeder had increased taxes to an alltime high before

One of the stupid things that the German labour ministers did IIRC, Is he is trying to prevent the working week in former East Germany from being lowered from 38 hours to 35, like in the west.

He also claimed that people were taking too many breaks and having too many holidays.

It only goes to show the pathetic bean counting hypocrisy on their part.

Since, the most important thing in determining productivity is not just mindlessly repeating, “I will work harder” (ever notice the similarity to animal farm? They all want us to “work harder”) but rather it is motivation.

more motivation= more work.

They have already accepted that idea, with their claim that lower taxes will motivate people more.

Breaks, Holidays, These give people rest and relaxation and help them to be more productive.

That thing about cutting red tape is BS though, corperations are never satisfied with what the goverment give them they are greedy and even will often dodge taxes and forge accounts as a matter of course.