The minister has reiterated several times this week that these potential tax cuts will only be possible under the condition that the state will have the financial leeway to support them.
On Thursday evening, Backes joined our colleagues from RTL Télé for an interview and went into greater detail about the government’s plans for 2023.
If tax relief is feasible, any potential measures will primarily target people with annual gross incomes of up to €100,000, Backes explained.
Related:State budget 2023: Minister of Finance hints at tax cuts, including for medium-income earners
However, the Minister once again stressed that “various parameters” must come together for this to happen. “Healthy public finances” remain a top priority for the politician of the Democratic Party (DP).
“It’s not about doing whatever we feel like doing. It’s meant to have an impact after all,” Backes said. According to the Minister, the government hopes that these measures can be implemented retroactively for the entire year 2023. “That’s the goal, but as I said, we have to see if we have the leeway to do it, which I hope we’ll have,” Backes stated.
For the Minister, there is no doubt that Luxembourg’s public finances are also under scrutiny on a global scale. In fact, she thinks that they “likely had an influence” on the decision of “a major financial player from North America” to expand their business to Luxembourg in the future. In this context, she once again stressed the importance of the Triple A rating for the Grand Duchy’s financial centre.
Yuriko Backes has been Minister of Finance for one year. She had previously served as Court Marshal (Maréchal de la cour). Recent reports about a verbal altercation between the Grand Duchess and one her employees are “unfortunate,” according to Backes.
“The monarchy is something that’s really important for our country,” she said, “which is why I’m extremely saddened whenever I read negative headlines like this.” Backes stressed that “it’s not good for our country,” before adding that she “really enjoyed” working for the head of state and that her decision to leave was not easy.
However, Backes stated that she also enjoys her new job as Minister of Finance. She also confirmed that she would be “available” to run in the 2023 legislative elections.
The full interview with RTL Télé (in Luxembourgish):
