The proposed plan aims to address the significant shortage of skilled labor in a context of an aging population.
The German Government proposes a new way of addressing the great labor shortage of the country: tax exemptions for foreigners. The plan contemplates that qualified workers from abroad receive a reduction in between 10 and 30% on your taxes in the first three years, with certain limits.
The worker shortage is being felt across a wide range of industries and professions: from the hospitality and restaurant sectors to nursing and teaching. Germany aims to attract 400,000 workers qualified people to the country each year to try to fill the empty positions.
The Government has especially focused on getting people from India. Rohan Shinde, a logistics manager, and his friends from the country say a tax reduction would be attractive: “They will most likely try to emigrate here. So this would motivate them and also increase the morale to come here,” he declared.
The critics
The Government’s proposal has provoked criticism from many sectors. A large union and the main opposition party, the centre-right Christian Democratic Union, They oppose the plans.
The CDU says that taxes should be reduced for all workers. The party’s Julia Klöckner, a member of Parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee, says the proposal could lead to a polarization in societydividing national and foreign workers, which could fuel extremism.
“Society is under pressure due to the large number of immigration that we have in Germany, and now this would be a mistake, a wrong signal, to send the signal to national workers, who pay a lot of taxes, that people who come from abroad have to pay 30% less for the same work,” he said. Klockner.
A common approach
Several other European countries offer tax incentives for foreigners with a common focus on in-demand jobs.Portugal said in July it would reintroduce a program that reduced taxes for foreigners working in some sought-after professions, such as teachers.
Sweden offers tax breaks to people with high incomes or who are considered experts in their fields and who plan to live in the country for up to seven years. Denmark It is also trying to attract high-income earners. They, together with researchers, get a tax rate of around 33%, while citizens can pay more than 50%.
Shinde says more money in his pocket will allow him to invest in Germany, as well as live some of his dreams. “I can invest in essentials, like buying an apartment or a car for myself, and taking my parents to travel the world,” Shinde said.
Additional sources • Voice-over: Lucía Blasco
