MP Clement first expressed his dissatisfaction over a potential corona tax, an idea first put forward by Minister of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy Dan Kersch. Clement explained that according to his calculations, the measure would not be as efficient as Minister Kersch likes to make it sound. Furthermore, he noted that the way it is phrased will not guarantee that only "winners" can be taxed.
Read also: Dan Kersch defends idea of a corona taxClement argued that Kersch only uses the proposal for political gains, while at the same time failing to enforce a necessary tax on Amazon, which would bring in about €250 million. The politician from the Pirate Party further underlined the importance of closing tax gaps between corporations, given that some still only pay 1%.
Clement described the retreat and evacuation from Afghanistan as utter disasters that showed how we failed to act for months. There have been clear signs of an approaching crisis since spring, and the Pirate Party already demanded action back in April. Luxembourg should have started bringing all helpers out of Afghanistan right from the beginning, he noted.
The politician further criticised the way in which the EU is still completely dependant on the decisions and actions from the United States, leading him to conclude the following: "I think we European countries showed that we don't have the geopolitical autonomy that we always like to speak about."
Given that a new set of Covid laws has to be proposed and approved by 14 September, the government should hurry with a respective idea. Clement believes that we should no longer prioritise incidence rates in our assessments, and further criticised that the government has failed to communicate clear methodologies for the past 18 months.
The government council will convene on Wednesday and is expected to announce a proposal after the meeting.
