Steuerpolitik: Klingbeil entlastet Arbeitnehmer bei Sonn- und Feiertagsarbeit

Bundesfinanzminister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) has softened his controversial income tax reform law and added a new relief: the government will also relieve employees working on Sundays and holidays in social insurance. The plan is for Sunday and holiday work to be "free of charge from the same amount as income tax," according to a draft of the 2027 Income Tax Reform Bill seen by the Handelsblatt.

This means employees will pay less from their holiday earnings into the social insurance. The coalition had agreed on this measure at the start of July, but it was initially absent from a first draft of the Federal Finance Ministry's bill. The measure is now included in a separate law. The maximum permissible basic wage for Sunday and holiday work will be raised from €50 to €75 from January 1, 2027, applying to both income tax and social insurance.

The maximum wage for night work remains unchanged at €50. Klingbeil has also made a significant change to his original bill, which included smaller tax burdens totaling €300 million. These measures were intended to offset the tax relief in the income tax reform, but Klingbeil removed them from the draft following criticism from the Union.

The SPD politician, however, kept them in a separate law. The measure was part of the coalition's reform package agreed upon in early July. However, the Union felt it was too small, and Klingbeil has since reduced the benefits in the bill. The main change is the increase in the tax-free allowance from €70,000 to €75,000, which will have a minimal impact on tax relief.