Who will really benefit from tax reform?

On 6 January, the Frieden government decided to unveil its New Year's gifts to taxpayers. The importance of the announcement can be gauged by the number of smiling ministers in front of the press: Finance Minister Gilles Roth (CSV) was not left alone and had to share the spotlight with Prime Minister Luc Frieden (CSV), but also Claude Meisch, Minister for National Education, Children and Youth, and Max Hahn, Minister for Family, Solidarity, Living Together and Hospitality, both DP. This is "a major tax reform with no losers and substantial tax relief for a very large section of the population", emphasised Gilles Roth. From single people to couples with children and single-parent families, on paper everyone should see their situation improved and their income tax reduced.

The most spectacular measure, however, is the introduction of a single tax class for all taxpayers, regardless of their family situation or marital status. This should lead to "greater tax justice", as it "takes account of the diversity of family constellations that exist today". Marriage should no longer be the unit of income taxation. "The family model chosen by each individual will no longer be the determining factor in personal taxation, " says Ufuk Zobali, a chartered accountant at LPG. "It's a healthy debate because the Constitution enshrines the principle of equality of taxpayers. It is understandable that someone who is richer should contribute more, but why should a single person pay more for having chosen not to marry or form a civil partnership? One of the most fundamental freedoms we all have is to choose the lifestyle we want to have throughout our lives." Everyone will be taxed according to their own income and will no longer change tax class after marriage, divorce or the death of their spouse.