A new draft bill from the German Health Ministry proposes raising taxes for adults without children to shore up the country's struggling elderly care system, according to a report from German media group RND.

The bill would increase contributions from childfree adults by 0.7% over several years, meaning they would pay 2.5% of their monthly income, with employers contributing 1.8%. For adults with children, rates remain unchanged: 1.8% for one child, 1.55% for two, and 1.3% for three or more.

The proposal would affect all full-time working adults over the age of 23. It is unclear when Health Minister Nina Warken, a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), will submit the draft to the cabinet.

Germany's birth rate has stagnated for years, buoyed only slightly by immigration. The government needs to act quickly to ensure elderly care without overburdening younger generations.

Separately, preliminary hearings have begun in Munich against TÜV Süd, the Bavarian branch of Germany's highly regarded safety testing firm. The lawsuit was brought by residents of Brumadinho, Brazil, where a dam collapse in 2019 killed 270 people and caused an environmental disaster.

Source: www.dw.com