Good evening,
The Federal Council has a small gift ready for the citizens before Christmas, but also pours some water into the wine. At VW there were signs of a result in collective bargaining. And Elon Musk is again interfering in domestic politics abroad. The day at a glance.
Tax burdens and contribution increases
More child benefit and tax burdens, but higher contributions to long-term care insurance. The Federal Council approved a large package today. This was decided, among other things:
- The Child benefit Increases by five euros to 255 euros
- The tax one Child allowance Will be increased by 60 euros to 6,672 euros in January
- The Basic allowance will be increased by 312 euros to 12,096 euros
- The contribution rate for Nursing care insurance Increases by 0.2 percentage points to 3.6 percent of gross wages
Because many health insurance companies also want to increase their contributions for the new year, the bottom line is that from January 1st there will not necessarily be more net on everyone's pay slip – for example for singles and single parents. This depends in detail on your own tax characteristics, gross income and the health insurance company you choose. Couples with children who are taxed together will particularly benefit from the package.
Elon Musk gets involved
Elon Musk has gained enormous influence in US politics with Donald Trump's election victory. But that's not enough for the tech billionaire. Musk has been involved in Italy for a long time, and now in Great Britain he will support the right-wing populist party Reform UK with a lot of money. Nothing is known about such projects in Germany, but the X owner has today again declared his support for the AfD. “Only the AfD can save Germany,” Musk wrote on his platform about a post by an influencer close to the AfD. Is this illegal election interference or election influence? My colleagues from ZDFheute-Check clarify:
Collective bargaining at VW
Will there be a breakthrough in VW collective bargaining? On the fifth day of negotiations, the parties to the dispute appear to be getting closer. It is the longest collective bargaining round to date between Volkswagen and IG Metall at a time marked by job cuts and planned factory closures. ZDFheute will report live on the results from 6:20 p.m.
Situation in the Middle East conflict
Tense humanitarian situation in Gaza: Constant attacks and the lack of access to urgently needed relief supplies are putting a heavy burden on the population. ZDF correspondent Thomas Reichart accompanies the Russian army and reports on the background.
What else is important
USA is threatened with a budget freeze: Just a few days before Christmas, the USA is threatened with an administrative shutdown. A transition budget proposal put forward by Republicans was rejected by the majority of lawmakers in the House of Representatives. If no new agreement is reached by midnight on Friday (local time), the so-called shutdown will occur – with unpaid compulsory leave for state employees and significant restrictions on public life.
What next for Germany's industry? Slumps in sales, job cuts, declines in investments. 2024 was not a year for German industry. Companies are fighting for competitiveness and demanding reforms.
More headlines
A ray of hope
The financing of the Deutschlandticket next year is in place. The necessary change to the regionalization law was approved by a clear majority first in the Bundestag and then in the Bundesrat.
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Streaming tips for the weekend
Christmas time is also fairytale time. You will find suitable films in the media library. A selection:
Of course, we still have interesting documentaries on offer. This time Hannah Emde appears in the TerraX documentary from the “Faszination Earth” series. “Canada – in the kingdom of water”. Polar bears that have to live without ice in the summer, forests that grow under water, intelligent killer whales and birds that use the highest tides in the world: Hardly any other country is as shaped by water as the North American country. (43 minutes)
Enjoy your evening and your weekend!
Lukasz Galkowski and the entire ZDFheute team
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