Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) is renewing its attack on the traditional family, calling for the abolition of a long-standing tax benefit for married couples under the pretext of fixing the country’s growing budget deficit.
The Ehegattensplitting tax, introduced in the 1950s, allows married couples to pool their income and split it for tax purposes, often resulting in significant savings when one partner earns substantially more than the other.
According to the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), the advantage can reach up to €20,000 a year.
The SPD, the junior partner in the coalition, claims the system discourages women from full-time work, entrenches “outdated” family roles, and ultimately contributes to pension inequality.
Wiebke Esdar, deputy leader of the SPD’s parliamentary group, criticised the tax for favouring single-earner marriages, despite its role in helping families choose to have a parent at home during the early child-rearing years.
However, Esdar admitted that scrapping the benefit would not provide an immediate fix to Germany’s fiscal woes, since constitutional constraints mean existing marriages would retain the advantage. Any change could only apply to future couples.
The renewed debate comes as Germany faces a projected shortfall of €172 billion up to 2029.
Finance Minister and SPD co-chair Lars Klingbeil has pushed for higher taxes on the wealthy, including reforms to inheritance and wealth taxation. Chancellor Merz (of the centre-right CDU), however, has ruled out any tax increases, citing the coalition agreement, which states that taxes will not be raised.
The coalition mood has soured dramatically. SPD Labour Minister Bärbel Bas recently branded Merz’s push for welfare cuts “bullshit,” warning that the welfare state must be defended.
Supporters of the Ehegattensplitting argue that it strengthens marriage and allows one parent to stay at home to care for children.
