Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

There was a very interesting article in the german business-magazine "brand eins" [1]. The article is not yet available for free (always released for free a few weeks after the magazine).

But the gist was that UBI is only possible with a substantial tax reform. In the article an example of 1000€ per month is presented and a universal "commerce" tax of 50% used (no other taxes just taxing money going out of businesses, e.g. earnings, salaries).

Several examples are presented: Low income of 24000€, 12000€ - 12000€ = 0€ in taxes. Higher income of 100000€, 50000€ - 12000€ = 38000€ in taxes.

It concludes that basic income in Germany is therefore great for everyone with salaries below 240000€ compared to the current taxation system.

Calculations for the amount of money necessary were also included, but I am unable to recall them from memory. Looking up the article online revealed a report by the interviewee from the magazine article [2], which states that a UBI of 800€ per month (including major reforms) would cost around 454.10 billion €, which would be about 2/3 of Germany's current tax income.

[1] "Wie überlebt der Sozialstaat die Digitalisierung?" https://www.brandeins.de/archiv/2017/fortschritt/

[2] http://www.hwwi.org/fileadmin/hwwi/Leistungen/Gutachten/Grun...




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: