Volker Münz, April 21, 2021, Assisted Suicide

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 19/223, 28266-28267.

Herr President. Dear colleagues. Right honorable ladies and gentlemen.

In its judgement, the Federal Constitutional Court derives the right to a self-determined death, with the possibility of suicide assistance, from the respect for the dignity of people. I cannot agree to this thesis. I hold the opposite to be correct; namely, that human dignity commands the respect and preservation of every human life. This proceeds from the Christian conception of man [Menschenbild]. Albert Schweitzer designates this as “reverence for life”. Yes, no one wants suffering in death, for oneself or see others suffer, especially one’s relatives. Assisted suicide however can be no way out of the distress of suffering and death.

And a prior obligation of counseling, as separately proposed, can in my view be no solution. The resulting counseling would thereupon be a prerequisite to be able to end one’s life assisted by a third party, analogous to a termination of pregnancy; that is, the ending of the life of an unborn child. As there is no right to abortion, exactly so can there be no right to assistance in regards the killing of oneself.

Assisted suicide may not become a state-regulated form of dying. It may not become a normality. The danger is not to be out of hand rejected that old and ill people see themselves exposed to at least indirect pressure to prepare to end their life so as not to become a burden on their relatives.

We may not open Pandora’s box. It is already not only about the theme of assisted dying in regards terminally ill people, but also about those who, out of despair, no longer want to live. What then comes next: Assisted suicide for minors or homicide on demand? All of which there is already in neighboring countries.

We do not have too little suicide but unfortunately too much, certainly in times of Corona. The state, and thus also we in this sovereign house, should therefore improve the provisions that will aid people in apparently irremediable situations, that will take the pain as far as possible from fatally ill people, and that enables the dying to die in dignity and in the company of relatives. Thus must also suicide prevention, palliative medicine and hospice work be promoted. The organized assistance for self-killing may not become legal.

Many thanks for your attention.

 

[trans: tem]

 

 

 

Volker Münz, November 5, 2020, State Benefits to Churches

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 19/189, 23839-23840.

Herr President. Dear colleagues.

For over 100 years there has been a constitutional mandate to end the so-called Staatsleistungen [state benefits] to the churches. To this day, this mandate has not been implemented, even though the Weimar constitution’s religion articles are a component of  the Basic Law. This constitutional mandate, in existence since 1919, should finally be implemented, ladies and gentlemen. Staatsleistungen are presently payments by the Federal states of around 550 million euros per year to the Catholic bishops and to the Evangelical state churches. Essentially, these benefits go back to the compensations for the expropriations of church goods in the year 1803. It is not about the church taxes [Kirchensteuer] – since that is a member’s contribution – or about church renovations, diaconates, kindergartens and such like. Of the total income of the churches, the Staatsleistungen make up around 2 percent.

For 217 years, payments have been made to the churches which should have been ended 100 years ago. It finally becomes time to do this, ladies and gentlemen. Since it is here about the credibility of the legislators and of the churches. It is about the divestiture [Entflechtung] of state and church, or as was demanded by Pope Benedict, about the un-worldliness [Entweltlichung] of the Church.

            Hermann Gröhe (CDU/CSU): First ask the AfD!

Thus, for example, the EKD supports a gender institute and a ship in the Mediterranean which brings migrants to Europe.

            Philipp Amthor (CDU/CSU): And that during the debate!

            Konstantin von Notz (Greens): Embarrassing!

Both Amtskirchen [official churches] vigorously meddle in politics. A concentration on the essentials, the proper duties of the Church, on preaching and the care of souls, would be to the advantage of the faithful, ladies and gentlemen.

            Martin Rosenmann (SPD): Perhaps Christian conduct as well!

My delegation’s draft law, which was already mentioned, foresees that the Staatsleistungen will be paid only until December 31, 2026; that is still around 3.3 billion euros. Thereby is provided sufficient planning security. The draft of the other opposition delegations foresees that a sum of 18.6 times the present yearly benefit will be made as a one-time payment or as installment payments. That would be around 10 billion euros. We hold that to be excessive, not least on account of the strained budget situation of the states which must come up with the payments. The factor of 18.6 originates from the real property assessment act and thus from tax law. Nevertheless, that is not applicable here.

The question of whether and in which amount a severance contribution is to be made is contested. We associate ourselves with the legal interpretation that the state with its now more than 200 years performance of payments has already completely compensated the churches for historical expropriations. We will further clearly advise this in the committees. I hope the coalition delegations will give up their blockade so that this for long open constitutional mandate will finally be fulfilled.

 

Volker Münz, September 9, 2020, Cum/Ex Tax Deal

German Bundestag, September 9, 2020, Plenarprotokoll 19/172, pp. 21547-21548

Frau President. Herr Minister Scholz. Right honorable ladies and gentlemen.

The so-called Cum/Ex business is a matter involving the greatest tax fraud in the history of the Federal Republic. For years, investors and banks have defrauded the state by means of the capital gains tax on stock dividends. The Federal government has much too late acknowledged this fraud and much too late acted. It emanates from a mixture of incompetence and lobby influence.

In 2012, the legal regulation was at last changed. Yet this was not sufficient. As before, there persists an urgent need to act so as to prevent further tax fraud, as reputable tax experts, tax judges and the Federal Audit Authority are reminding; keyword, “Cum/Cum” or “Cum/Fake”.

The scale of this tax fraud is immense. Estimates speak of at least 32 billion euros since 2001. That this tax fraud has still not been effectively impeded is a failure of this Federal government and of Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, ladies and gentlemen.

That alone is bad enough. Now it has been made known that Olaf Scholz during his time as Hamburg’s First Bürgermeister played a disreputable role in the elaboration of the Cum/Ex scandal. Moreover, he has deceived the Finance Committee, ladies and gentlemen. The Warburg private bank of Hamburg was involved in the Cum/Ex wheeling and dealing. This bank was exempted from paying back illegally written off capital gains tax credits totaling 47 million euros by the Hamburg Finance Administration – then under First Bürgermeister Olaf Scholz and Finance Senator Tschentscher who today is Bürgermeister. This ought not to have happened, ladies and gentlemen.

Herr Scholz may not wish to remember the many meetings in the years 2016 and 2017 with the head of the Warburg bank, against whom an investigative procedure was being conducted on account of tax fraud. When he was questioned on this in the Bundestag Finance Committee, he conceded only one unimportant meeting. He was reticent concerning further contacts. Meanwhile, it has been made known that three meetings and a telephone call occurred. Unfortunately, Herr Federal Minister Scholz can no longer recall the contents of the conversations. That is unbelievable, ladies and gentlemen.  

As was acknowledged, three days after the telephone call between Herr Scholz and the head of the bank, the Hamburg Finance Administration renounced the demand for the 47 million euros. That is no accident, ladies and gentlemen. The clarification which you are currently pushing does not convince me. Ja, perhaps in your eyes 47 million euros is just peanuts, considering the hundreds of billions which you have loaded onto the citizens in the coming Federal budget. Those are details, already forgotten. The Warburg donation of over 45,000 euros to the Hamburg SPD must in this relation be mentioned. Herr Minister, what you present here goes too far and it does not fly.

Herr Minister, how do you wish to explain that to millions of honorable taxpayers? People must have the impression that here there are two standards of measurement. For the large amounts, the state apparently is not so precise. How indeed do you wish to explain that to the many citizens who have been hit or are threatened with unemployment, not least on account of the Federal government’s false policy on Corona matters, where many businesses and self-employed stand before ruin?

All of that undermines trust in our state organizations, in the state of law and in democracy – and yet not least, in the Federal Minister.

Against the background of your actions, Herr Minister Scholz, in the Cum/Ex scandal and yet also in the face of your department’s failure of financial supervision in the Wirecard affair, I demand of you: Resign!

            Dagmar Ziegler (SPD): You better sit down.

[trans: tem]