Members of the German Bundestag and the individual state parliaments can certainly be described as top earners. For their “service to the people” they receive various remunerations and expense packages. In addition, the Federal Republic of Germany grants “official equipment”, which also includes the assumption of additional personnel costs. Tax-free or favoured, however, are far fewer services than are often presented to the public. Let’s take a look at what applies to MEPs and taxes in detail!
1st Member of Parliament – Tasks and status of parliamentarians
The term “Members of Parliament” covers all representatives of the German population. While they are elected to the German Bundestag by general election, citizens elect their deputies at state level in the context of state elections. They represent the interests of the citizens in the respective parliaments and are organised in so-called political groups. Each federal or state parliamentary group represents a party with its individual interests and ideas.
Anyone who is elected to the Bundestag or a state parliament enjoys protection against dismissal under Article 48 of the Basic Law. Civil servants are exempted from service, so their civil service is suspended for the period of their work as Members. The same applies to employees, whereby the modalities are largely freely agreed with the employer. For example, MEPs can continue to work part-time for their previous company, but certain limits apply.
2. Members' remuneration and financial benefits
For reasons of simplification, we only look at the benefits for members of the German Bundestag in the following. However, comparable regulations also exist in most federal states. The benefits to members of the German Bundestag are regulated, among other things, in the fourth section of the Act of Deputies (AbgG) and include:
This article does not replace tax or legal advice in an individual case. Facts, current law, jurisdiction, documentation and implementation remain decisive.