Despite a favourable overall financial situation, the national budget falls short in several key areas, according to the Chamber of Employees (CSL).
Nora Back, President of the CSL, highlighted on Wednesday morning that the budget lacks adequate climate and environmental initiatives. She emphasised that this shortfall is unacceptable given the current climate crisis and the need for robust investments.
Back expressed surprise over the budget’s downward revision of expenditures for affordable housing, arguing that it contradicts the government’s previous commitments to housing. She also criticised the absence of concrete plans to combat poverty, social inequalities, and injustices. “Unfortunately, [this budget] is not the big step towards more social justice that we were hoping for. And we regret that,” Back stated.
The CSL, aligning with the National Council of Public Finances (CNFP), pointed out that the budget’s revenue projections are systematically underestimated, a trend they believe is becoming increasingly problematic.
The CSL offered a mixed assessment of the fiscal measures in the budget. While they welcomed the adjustments of the tax scale to account for inflation, they criticised the government’s portrayal of these adjustments as a relief package, labelling it as misleading. The CSL argued that without these adjustments, households would face higher taxes.
The CSL is advocating for the tax scale to be automatically adjusted to inflation in the future. Additionally, they criticised the reduction of corporate taxes for businesses, stating that a structural reform is necessary to address the imbalance in taxation between labour and capital.
The CSL also took issue with the favourable tax regimes for impatriates, who pay significantly less tax on the same income compared to other households. This practice, they argue, undermines the principle of equality before the law.
