Implementation of the tax measures agreed at the tripartite meeting

On June 29, 2023, the Chamber of Deputies passed the law implementing the tax measures agreed at the March 2023 tripartite meeting.

All employees and pensioners will now benefit from tax relief. This measure is the fruit of action by the OGBL, which did not give up at tripartite level before obtaining improvements in favor of the purchasing power of employees, pensioners and their families.

In 2022, only the OGBL remained true to its commitments, refusing to sign a “tripartite” agreement that manipulated the index by introducing a delay of at least 12 months between the payment of two index tranches, and provided absolutely nothing to combat the explosion in prices.

After months of lobbying, the OGBL finally achieved a new tripartite agreement to be negotiated and concluded in September 2022, providing for both the restoration of the normal operation of the index and the introduction of measures to combat inflation, particularly in energy prices.

A third tripartite agreement, signed on March 7, 2023, then consolidated the September agreement, even strengthening it on several points, with:

• normal operation of the index guaranteed until at least the end of 2024
• maintenance of the energy price cap until the end of 2024
• housing-related measures (increase in the “bëllegen Akt” and the ceiling on mortgage interest deductions)
• the introduction of a tax credit equivalent to 84 euros/month for REVIS and severely disabled income beneficiaries.

Furthermore, the latest tripartite negotiations have resulted in an initial adjustment of the tax scale to inflation, which will take place in two stages. It should be noted that there had been no adjustment of the scale to inflation since the 2017 tax reform.

Conjoncture tax credit (Crédit d’impôt conjoncture – CIC) and tax scale adjustment

• In 2023, taxpayers will first receive a tax credit equivalent to the impact of two index tranches on their personal taxation. This credit will apply upon adoption of the tripartite law, with retroactive effect to January 1, 2023.
• From January 1, 2024, the tax scale will then be increased by 6.37%, equivalent to the impact of 2.5 index tranches on personal taxation.

This is an important first step towards putting an end to the phenomenon of cold progression. However, the OGBL maintains its demands for (1) an adjustment that takes into account all the increases incurred since 2017, and (2) the reintroduction of a mechanism for automatically adjusting the tax scale to inflation. These elements must be the subject of a comprehensive tax reform, the primary objective of which must be greater tax justice.

The CIC will apply from January 2023 to December 2023 inclusive. It will then be replaced by an adjustment to the tax scale from January 2024.

The amount of the CIC allocated to the taxpayer is calculated on the basis of the gross amount of his salary or pension. Gross monthly salary includes all emoluments and benefits. However, non-periodic and extraordinary income should not be included, unless it represents the counterpart of a reduction in ordinary remuneration. The CIC is not granted for gross monthly salaries and pensions of less than €1,125.

 

As application of the CIC is retroactive to January 1, 2023, the first salary (or pension) to which it applies will include the cumulated CIC amounts allocated for the past months since the start of 2023. Thereafter, the applicable CIC will be paid monthly until the end of 2023.

CO2 tax credit (CI-CO2)

The law passed on June 29, 2023 also introduces a CO2 tax credit (CI-CO2) which, from January 1, 2024, will compensate the lowest salaries for the cost of successive increases in the CO2 tax.

The CO2 tax credit is designed exclusively to support the lowest salaries. The amount of the CI-CO2 will be 144 € per year for all employees and pensioners earning less than 40,000 € per year. This amount is then degressive up to an annual income of 80,000 €. The CI-CO2 will be paid monthly.

 

 

 

OGBL and Friddensplattform recently reaffirmed their future cooperation for humanity, peace, climate protection and social justice.

On the occasion of World Refugee Day, both organizations publish their positions within this cooperation in a joint statement:

The European Union is failing on asylum!

On today’s United Nations World Refugee Day, we note with shame that the European Union is failing miserably in its asylum policy. Every day, people die at the EU’s borders. People fleeing war, persecution, misery, natural and climate disasters.

What is the EU’s response? It tries to hermetically seal its borders. On some sections of the border, nation states have erected meter-high barbed wire fences, while on other sections, the EU border protection agency Frontex is deployed with unspeakable “pushbacks”. Racist violence against refugees is a reality at the EU’s external borders. Military operations are now being used to ensure that refugees do not enter the EU. Other “border protection” measures are barely visible – such as the EUROSUR system, which monitors the borders with satellites, drones and sensors.

What a shame! What a shame that nationalist and racist tones are becoming louder in many places. We are vehemently opposed to right-wing populism and racism.

We demand Humanity at last in asylum policy. Fight the causes that lead to these refugee movements. Stop senseless wars, ensure fair trade and economic relations, fight climate change and finally introduce a humane asylum system.

The current plans of the EU Commission and the EU Council will only lead to further disenfranchisement of refugees. We call on the EU Parliament to reject these plans. Say NO to a Europe of refugee detention camps.

We also support the demands of the Lëtzebuerger Flüchtlingsrot (LFR), especially the demands for a better integration of refugees.

Negotiate instead of escalate!

We are against war, worldwide. Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Ethiopia, Sudan… War is always a crime against humanity.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which violates international law, has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded and millions of refugees since February 24. It is the civilian population that is suffering most from the war. They deserve our solidarity.

We have stood and continue to stand clearly and unambiguously by the principles of the United Nations Charter. This Charter affirms Ukraine’s right to self-defense. The Charter also makes clear that everything possible must be done to achieve a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Countering Russian aggression with more and more weapons is not the answer. There is a legitimate danger of uncontrolled escalation, and even the use of nuclear weapons can no longer be ruled out.

We demand: Negotiation instead of escalation, lay down your arms, diplomacy must take precedence over war.

We call on the Luxembourg government to consistently support diplomatic initiatives in the war in Ukraine. Instead of constantly increasing the military budget, it would be appropriate to focus on a new European security architecture in which absurd military investment funds play no role and in which the militarization of the European Union is not pushed forward. In this new security architecture, a civilian security policy must have absolute priority.

In the fall of this year, we are planning a roundtable discussion on the topic “Quo vadis peace movement? We will also organize another peace march in Luxembourg as part of the international Easter marches in 2024.

Climate action must be an absolute priority!

The climate time bomb is ticking. The latest scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued an unprecedented warning about climate change and called for drastic action. Climate change is happening faster and its consequences are more devastating than previously thought. The 1.5C target set in Paris will be exceeded within the next few years.

We demand: The scientific work of the IPCC must be the basis for all political decisions. Shift from fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) to renewable energy sources (such as wind, solar and hydropower). We urgently need to change our rampant consumption habits.

A clear no to nuclear energy, this form of energy is horrendously expensive, fraught with the greatest safety risks, and where to put all the nuclear waste that needs to be stored safely for a million years is the subject of embarrassing silence in many places.

We call on the Luxembourg government to act consistently on the basis of the latest IPCC report. We call on municipalities to take concrete climate protection measures into account in their daily decisions.

We will increasingly seek cooperation with Youth For Climate.

We will not solve any of our problems without social justice!

Inequalities have been growing worldwide for years, even decades. Year after year, the Oxfam report shows that the wealth created is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small number of ultra-rich people.

In Luxembourg, too, inequality is on the rise.  The Grand Duchy has one of the highest numbers of “working poor” in Europe.

Stronger measures need to be taken. There is a need for real tax justice, a tax reform that reduces the burden on low and middle income earners, but makes wealth, very high wages and capital gains more of a burden.

Social achievements such as the index, the minimum wage, our social security and our pension system are the guarantors of our social peace. We oppose any attack on these pillars of our social system.

In the face of the ongoing housing crisis, the persistence of high inflation, especially in the food sector, and the growing risk of poverty among more and more sectors of the population, these social achievements must not be dismantled but, on the contrary, strengthened and improved.

Communicated on June 20, 2023

The OGBL would like to remind you that civic rights and duties, including the right to vote, are among the exemptions from work to which all employees are entitled, with full pay, in accordance with article L. 233-11 of the Labor Code.

All employees who work on Sunday, June 11, 2023, and who wish to vote in the communal elections during the opening hours of the polling stations (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.) are therefore entitled to do so during their working hours, without being penalized in any way whatsoever.

However, for reasons of work organization, the OGBL advises employees to discuss this exemption from work with their employer in advance.

Finally, the OGBL invites any employee who encounters problems in exercising this right to send an e-mail to the following address: info@ogbl.lu.

Communicated by the OGBL,
June 7, 2023

May 1st is Workers’ Day! And this year, the OGBL invited all workers and pensioners to a day combining a festive atmosphere with a fighting spirit. All in a magical setting: the Neumünster Abbey at Luxembourg’s Grund.

The day kicked off at 10:30 a.m. on the square of neimënster with the May 1st speech by OGBL president Nora Back. The speech, which was eagerly awaited just a few months before the parliamentary elections, focused on tax justice, the need to increase the social minimum wage, the reduction of working hours, the improvement of our pension system and, of course, the defense of the index.

May 1st speech by the OGBL President
Speech by Nora Back

But May 1st is also a time for celebration. And this was perfect timing. As part of its traditional Festival of Labor and Cultures, the OGBL had once again organized a rich and varied program, in collaboration with the neimënster teams. In a festive, relaxed atmosphere, several thousand people from all backgrounds and nationalities enjoyed a wide range of culinary delights and a cultural program that was, as always, of the highest quality, with entertainment for young and old alike.

Alongside the gastronomic village, visitors were able to attend numerous concerts, shows, readings, children’s workshops and exhibitions. The day ended with a concert by Serge Tonnar & Band, currently on tour with their new album “Jo an Amen”.

Communicated by the OGBL on May 3, 2023