(de-news.net) – The CDU/CSU’s call for rapid corporate tax cuts has been rejected by the SPD, which argues that broadly applied reductions tend to lose effectiveness and rarely translate into meaningful new investment. From the party’s perspective, such measures risk dispersing fiscal resources without delivering structural improvements. Instead, SPD officials emphasized that economic competitiveness is shaped above all by reliable infrastructure and sustainably lower energy prices, both of which directly affect production costs and planning certainty for firms. Against this backdrop, the party called for more determined implementation of existing policy commitments and criticized the federal economics minister for insufficient follow-through on measures that had already been agreed.
At a more fundamental level, the SPD reiterated its demand for a revised economic model oriented toward advanced technologies and a substantial increase in productivity. The party explicitly rejected proposals to extend weekly or lifetime working hours as a primary instrument for raising output, arguing that such approaches misconceive the sources of long-term growth. In the SPD’s assessment, sustainable economic performance depends on innovation, technological upgrading, and efficiency gains, rather than on generalized extensions of working time that risk social and economic drawbacks.
In the ongoing debate over inheritance tax reform, the SPD defended its plans against criticism from the Union. Central to its approach is the introduction of a lifetime allowance designed to reduce the tax burden for the overwhelming majority of inheritances. At the same time, the party seeks to ensure that exceptionally large fortunes, particularly in cases involving the transfer of businesses, make an equitable contribution without endangering employment or long-term corporate stability in Germany. Senior parliamentary figures stressed that the governing coalition was not headed toward a fundamental tax conflict, noting that an impending ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court was likely to generate legislative pressure by calling existing exemptions into question. Any subsequent reform, they argued, should protect ordinary family homes while directing revenues from very large estates into education, thereby strengthening future economic performance.
On migration policy, the SPD parliamentary group adopted a position favoring permanent residency for immigrants who comply with the law, are employed, or are undergoing training, citing acute labor shortages faced by many companies across sectors. This stance clearly contrasts with demands from CSU representatives for more restrictive and accelerated deportation practices. Beyond migration, the party’s draft resolution outlines a broader policy agenda under the guiding theme of collective strength, including an artificial intelligence initiative aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises, higher taxation of millionaire inheritances, and the introduction of a specific criminal offense addressing femicide.
The SPD also opposed blanket calls for Syrian refugees to return to their country of origin, pointing to the high level of integration achieved by many Syrians, including their participation in skilled professions and, in numerous cases, their acquisition of German citizenship. While reaffirming its commitment under the coalition agreement to deport serious offenders, the party emphasized that all return decisions must be assessed individually and in accordance with the rule of law. Current migration policy efforts, it argued, should balance humanitarian considerations with order, focus on implementing agreed European asylum reforms, and avoid symbolic actions that could undermine their practical effectiveness.
