“The creation and preservation of social justice is an issue that is deeply rooted in humanist thinking. We have therefore decided to take a clear stance as an association on this important issue,” said Frieder Otto Wolf, President of the Humanist Association of Germany, on Monday.
At last weekend’s meeting, the Executive Committee decided that the federal association would officially support the “UmFAIRteilen – Reichtum besteuern” alliance.
The politically independent alliance is an association of non-governmental organizations and civil society initiatives, including the Alevi Community of Germany, the German Child Protection Association and the Catholic Workers’ Movement.
The aim is to introduce a permanent wealth tax and a one-off wealth levy. The tax should not be levied on current income, but on assets less debts. The alliance assumes that over 20 billion euros could be collected annually and that the levy could generate up to one trillion euros in the long term.
The additional money is to be invested in education and local transport, or can also be used by the federal states to reduce their debt burden. The expansion of affordable daycare places, the preservation of libraries and, finally, the state’s scope for action in general are to be strengthened as a result.
Frieder Otto Wolf pleaded with humanists to work even harder for social justice at all levels of civil society and politics. The focus should not be on belittling the honest achievements of individuals or attacking legitimate vested interests. “Our aim is to support processes through which the first steps can be taken to tackle the alarming polarization of poverty and wealth in our societies.”
