WESTERWELLE-Gastbeitrag für das "Wall Street Journal Europe"

Berlin. Der FDP-Partei- und Fraktionsvorsitzende DR. GUIDO WESTERWELLE schrieb für das "Wall Street Journal Europe" (Montags-Ausgabe) den folgenden Gastbeitrag.
"Of the 32 countries that qualified for the World Cup finals now well under way in Germany, only two have lower growth rates than the host country. If Germany had finished 30th in this tournament, it would have been considered a national disaster. When it comes to its economic performance, Germany needs to be more ambitious as well.
Germany"s new government promised more freedom when it came to power last year. The opposite has happened. Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition is raising taxes like never before in postwar Germany. This year"s budget will post a record deficit of almost EUROS 40 billion. The bureaucracy is being expanded, and the much-needed reform of the labor market seems to have been forgotten. The coalition of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats is proving to be only one thing for Germany"s citizens: extremely costly.
The tax hikes--most prominently, an increase in VAT to 19% from 16% next year and the introduction of a new "wealth tax"--reflect the government"s unwillingness to make fiscal discipline the principle of their policies. Berlin is seeking more revenues instead of restraining expenditures. The more than 500 spending cuts my party proposed have all been voted down--including those the Christian Democrats themselves embraced when they were in opposition. The German government doesn"t suffer from a lack of funding. It spends its resources unwisely. Consider just this little example: Every year Germany gives EUROS70 million in development aid to China. This vast and fast-growing Asian economy is a serious competitor on the international market, not a country in need of handouts.
When 50 cents out of every euro go through the hands of the state, that state needs some serious limits. The billions of subsidies for the coal industry and the wasteful administration of Germany"s 4.5 million officially unemployed are two striking examples of a government that overreaches instead of focusing on what should be its core business.
Yes, consumer spending in Germany is up these days. Growth is expected to be a sluggish 1.5%. Unfortunately, much of this very modest recovery will be suffocated next year when VAT goes up. Private spending, too, is largely motivated by consumers who are trying to evade next year"s higher VAT.
During last year's election campaign, Ms. Merkel's party promised to use the revenue from a 2% VAT increase to lower Germany"s payroll taxes. Because of Germany"s high labor costs, thousands of companies are relocating to neighboring countries that offer a more attractive business environment. Over the past few years, 5,700 have moved to Austria alone.
But instead, the government pushed through a 3% VAT increase to close the gaping holes in the federal budget. Only last year the Social Democrats fervently opposed any VAT increase. Had the Social Democrats told their voters before the elections that they would later agree to an enormous tax hike, the party would not be in government today. This coalition has betrayed its voters.
Health-care reform is the next government project that again will only squeeze out more money from Germany's citizens. Private health plans, the only healthy sector in this bankrupt system, will be choked to gain revenue. That revenue will be used in an ill-fated attempt to stabilize the mandatory, state-run health-care system. But a barrel with leaks doesn"t need more water. It needs fixing. Germany needs a new health-care system where every citizen is insured, but where a private market regulates cost and conditions.
The long-promised reform of the corporate tax code has been delayed until 2008. And Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück already said that the government does not intend to lower the overall tax burden for companies. Germany's corporate and income tax code remains opaque. Countries like Austria have shown how a simplified tax code with lower rates can lead to higher economic growth and an unemployment rate that is half of what we have in our country. That in turn is the prerequisite for a balanced budget, for only those who are employed can pay taxes. The German government has yet to explain why it believes that, against all evidence, its tax hikes will stimulate the economy and job creation.
In Angela Merkel's coalition, the state interventionists of Germany"s two biggest parties have come together. They mistrust the individual and look for big government to solve all the problems. My party stands for a social market economy. But what we have in Germany today is what I call a bureaucratic state economy. Companies have to spend enormous time, money and brain power just to circumvent the overregulation imposed on them.
We liberals stress the opportunities of globalization. But the challenges of globalization can only be answered by embracing new technologies and focusing on research and education. Our high standard of living depends on cutting-edge ideas. The new German government, though, is wasting the precious time our country has left to get in shape. No wonder, then, that the German public is disillusioned. In last year"s election, the two coalition parties received together 69% of the votes. In current polls, 70% are appalled by the economic performance of Ms. Merkel"s team.
The chancellor represents our country well on the international stage. But her coalition does not govern well. Germany can do better than waiting for the smallest common denominator to emerge from endless infighting between the coalition parties. Germany does not need a permanent stalemate. Germany needs a change of policies."