Germany’s Biggest Tax Hike Since WWII: SPD Targets Families
2nd October 2025
Faced with a rapidly worsening budget outlook, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) believes he has finally found a fresh source of revenue. By scrapping the long-standing “marriage splitting” tax benefit—a system that allows couples to pool income and reduce their tax bill—he hopes to plug the ever-widening budget holes. It marks the preliminary climax of a tax hike debate designed less to fix Germany’s fiscal crisis than to relieve politicians from the pressure of implementing structural reforms.
In truth, this development comes as no surprise. The SPD has long sought to abolish marriage splitting. The measure is framed as a response to Germany’s structural deficit, which is projected to balloon to more than €170 billion by 2029—provided, of course, that the German economy does not sink even deeper into recession than it already has.