German Unions Call for 49% Top Tax Rate and Wealth Tax Revival Amid Industrial Turmoil
Published on 06/21/2026 at 10:38 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Germany's largest trade union federation, the DGB, has opened a new front in its campaign to protect workers by demanding a sharp increase in the top income tax rate and a revival of the wealth tax. In a concept presented on 19 June, the DGB calls for lifting the top rate from 42 percent to 49 percent on annual incomes starting at €88,900. The proposal also urges reintroducing a wealth tax and hiking inheritance taxes – moves the federation says are needed to finance social investments and reverse growing inequality.
The tax push is part of a broader agenda put forward by the DGB's district office in the Altenburger Land region, which on 19 and 20 June congratulated newly elected and re-elected works council members. Thomas Jäschke, the district chair, described those elections as "lived democracy" and warned of persistent income and wealth gaps between eastern and western Germany. He also voiced fears that companies in the east are increasingly quitting collective-bargaining agreements and that the region faces a risk of deindustrialisation. The DGB is calling on policymakers to strengthen the legal framework for worker participation and fair conditions.
The urgency of those demands was underscored at the same time during the IG Metall district assembly in Baden-Württemberg, held 18–19 June in Ludwigsburg. Delegates reported a tense industrial climate: hiring freezes, short-time work and weak capacity utilisation are widespread. One stark example of structural change emerged in Waiblingen, where Bosch plans to close its site by 2028. Of the 560 workers currently employed there, only around 150 are expected to be transferred.
On 20 June, more than 140 worker representatives gathered at IG Metall Duisburg-Dinslaken to demand clear rules for the use of artificial intelligence. A recent study underpins the economic stakes: companies pursuing a combined human-machine strategy saw personnel grow by 52 percent, compared with just 36 percent for pure automation. Productivity also rose by 34 percent under the combined approach. The works councils argue that without binding safeguards, AI risks undermining job quality and employee rights.
Further regulation is needed on the digital front as well. In June, Microsoft introduced a feature for Teams that detects office presence via WLAN and IP data. In Germany, deploying such surveillance tools requires explicit approval from the works council to ensure data protection. Separately, Federal Labour Minister Bärbel Bas presented a draft reform of working-time law on 19 June. Under the plan, collective bargaining partners would be allowed to agree on weekly rather than daily maximum hours, and the statutory 11-hour rest period could be waived under certain conditions. The draft also mandates electronic time recording. Business associations and the conservative opposition have rejected the proposals.
The pressure on the social safety net is also driving protest beyond factory gates. On 20 June, more than 1,000 people demonstrated in several Hesse cities against planned cuts to social, education and healthcare spending. In Kassel alone, around 800 protesters turned out, according to police. The rallies were backed by the DGB, the Verdi services union and the GEW education union. Organisers described the cuts as a "massive attack" on Germany's welfare state.
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