Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Germany May Tax Young Workers

Proposed levy would pay for retiring boomers

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 7, 2012 9:56 AM CDT

(Newser) – Germany, too, is facing a huge spike in retirees, and the government is considering a new tax on younger workers to help pay for their pensions and health benefits, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. The measure to be introduced this month is expected to require workers 25 and older to fork over about 1% of their yearly income.

"We have to consider the time after 2030 when the baby boomers of the '50s and '60s are retired and costing us more in health and care costs," says legislator Gunter Krings of Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats party. Germany faces a particular demographic pinch, notes the Telegraph: Its population is steadily declining, but that's not being offset by immigrants as in other European nations. Meanwhile, about 7 million Germans are expected to age out of the work force by 2025.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures during her meeting with students at the Faculty of Law of the Charles University on April 3 in Prague.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures during her meeting with students at the Faculty of Law of the Charles University on April 3 in Prague.   (Getty Images)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a news conference on April 3 at the Czech Government headquarters in Prague.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a news conference on April 3 at the Czech Government headquarters in Prague.   (Getty Images)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
4%
14%
38%
21%
10%
13%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 15 comments
Cat-Lover
Apr 7, 2012 5:52 PM CDT
Here in the good ol' USA, some religious right-wing factions are doing everything they can to prevent immigration.  Without any doubt it's based on racial and ethnic bigotry, but America became great when we had an influz of immigration.  New people are the lifeblood of a civilization; they enter, work, pay taxes, become educated and develop our future.  We must open our doors wide for a sustainable furure.
cheongyei
Apr 7, 2012 12:24 PM CDT
Such demands are outrageous, but are common under the game of socialism.  Once the marketplace is disrupted by the nanny-state do-gooders, it's "anything goes". Once the principle of robbing Peter to pay Paul is accepted in a society, and once governments assign individuals responsibility for caring for their 'brothers', the only question left is the issue of degree: what is the correct percent to extort from innocent to people to pay for this social engineering. In a market-based 'pay-for-what-you-use' social model, such games cannot gain traction.  Pitting groups against one-another and all the wheeling and dealing of special interests is the disgusting result of accepting the socialist model in the first place.
Winston_Smith
Apr 7, 2012 11:40 AM CDT
I have been hearing for 40 years that Germany's population is "steadily declining", but it always seems to stay the same, just over 80 million.  

 
Angela Merkel • taxes • Germany

 
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Timelines   |   POPSUGAR Tech   |   Business Insider   |   HuffPost Entertainment   |   NewsOne