After the collapse of the Dresden Bridge, the Left is developing a plan for new investments in the infrastructure, which is available exclusively to IPPEN.MEDIA.
Berlin – A few weeks after the collapse of the Carola Bridge in Dresden, the Left is calling for massive investments in public infrastructure. In the “Plan for a Social Bridge Renovation”, which party leader Janine Wissler presented on Monday (October 7th), the IPPEN.MEDIA Already available, the party is demanding 15 billion euros annually just for the construction and renovation of bridges.
Money for dilapidated bridges – and the introduction of the kerosene tax
“The federal government has been urgently delaying them for years necessary renovation of the traffic bridges – at the expense of security. It cannot be the case that bridges in an ‘unsatisfactory’ condition continue to have to be used because the FDP is turning off the investment tap,” the paper says.
The Left is not satisfied with the nine billion euros announced by Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) next year for federal highways and bridges. Of the over 130,000 bridges in Germany, tens of thousands are in need of renovation.
On the one hand, the party wants to finance the additional investments by moving away from the so-called company car privilege, i.e. the tax relief for company cars. The Left expects an annual increase of around five billion euros. Wissler and her party are also calling for the introduction of a kerosene tax for aircraft. Unlike other modes of transport, kerosene in commercial aviation is exempt from energy tax and therefore enjoys an enormous tax privilege. “The exemption of air transport from energy tax caused a tax loss of around 8.3 billion euros,” write the Left in their position paper.
Investment program for local jobs
According to the left, the investments should also create local jobs and thus relieve traffic in an ecologically sustainable manner. The party insists on widespread and free public transport, especially during the construction and renovation period.
“A social bridge renovation doesn’t just think about concrete and technology, but also about people and the environment. “It creates fair jobs, promotes sustainability, reduces traffic and ensures that costs are distributed fairly,” is the vision in the paper.
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