Solidarity surcharge from 2020 constitutional for the time being

Despite the expiration of the Solidarity Pact II, the Baden-Württemberg Fiscal Court considers the continued application of the solidarity tax to be constitutional.

Although the Solidarity Pact II expires in 2019, the solidarity surcharge will continue to apply - albeit in a limited form that will only burden a small proportion of taxpayers. However, the Baden-Württemberg Fiscal Court has now rejected a lawsuit that claims the solidarity surcharge will be unconstitutional from 2020. According to the court, the legislature's freedom of design allows it to choose between a supplementary levy and a tax increase, as long as the taxes due to the federal and state governments are not eroded.

Moreover, a supplementary levy would not have to be imposed for a limited period of time or only for a short period of time, although a constitutionally adopted supplementary levy can become unconstitutional if the circumstances governing its introduction change fundamentally. However, the additional financing needs of the federal government resulting from reunification, e.g. in the area of pension insurance, would continue to exist. In addition, the legislature has made the specific fiscal exceptional situation sufficiently clear, according to the court. The lack of inclusion of corporations in the reduction of the solidarity surcharge as a result of the completely different tariff structure was also permissible. The plaintiff has appealed the ruling to the Federal Fiscal Court.