On Wednesday, Minister of Finance Pierre Gramegna (DP) made the official announcement that due to the coronavirus, this would not be the time to raise any taxes:
LINK: The five priorities of a 2021 budget marked by the coronavirusAfter the end of the budgetary deposition, several politicians openly criticised the administration for the decision:
LINK: Opposition reacts to budget announcementOn Thursday, Sven Clement (Piraten) demanded that quick action needed to be taken to manage the tax issues. He emphasised the unfairness of single individuals being taxed substantial more than "those who are lucky enough to live together as a couple".
Gilles Roth (CSV) took his time to elaborate on the amount of money the government could have made over the past five years if stricter tax regulations had been in place. The administration would now be too late to react, Roth further noted, criticising the recent vote opposing a possible reform.
Roth's party colleague Marc Lies addressed the Chamber as well, accusing DP and PM Bettel of having let the housing problem evolve into a national crisis. He further stated that since Bettel took office in 2013, market prices had experienced a 65% increase.
Overall, the present members agreed that the housing market would constitute the biggest threat to social stability in Luxembourg. Yves Cruchten (LSAP) fears that a veritable gap could open between property owners and those who can never afford to own an apartment. He therefore considered recent measures taken by the administration to be insufficient and questioned the number of foreign investors taking advantage of the real estate sector.
