Labour union IG Metall calls for higher top tax rate to cover climate action costs
Clean Energy Wire
High incomes in Germany should be taxed more to generate funds for climate action measures, Jörg Hofmann, head of the country's biggest labour union IG Metall, said at a convention in Nürnberg. "Raise the top tax rate, tax capital returns fairly and reintroduce the wealth tax – that would be the right climate package. Global warming cannot be fought with social coldness," Hofmann told union delegates. He said the government's announcement that part of the additional financial burden associated with Germany's new climate action package should be given back to citizens did not answer the question "who pays how much for protecting the climate in the end?” Hofmann said that IG Metall would show that "climate action and industry are not mutually exclusive and that a good life also means good work”, adding that "this understanding is what we offer in reply to car critics and eco-populists”.
In its 2030 climate action package, the government has said it will introduce a price on carbon emissions in the transport and heating sector by 2021, which is set to increase the energy costs for many households due to higher fuel prices. Earnings generated through carbon pricing will fill Germany's Energy- and Climate Fund, among other things, which is used to finance climate action measures.
