Christian Lindner can be admired in a strange double role. On the one hand, the Federal Minister of Finance is responsible for the absurdity associated with the taxation of the December discount for gas and district heating taken over by the state.

This means that a social benefit is added to the taxable income. Even proven experts are puzzling over how this is supposed to work. On the other hand, the FDP politician warns against considerations of making the subsidy for heating replacement taxable. According to the usual tax distribution, the states thus benefit from federal spending, he argues.

In addition, this leads to a double redistribution: first on the way to the state budget via the linear progressive income tax, then on the way back from the state budget in the case of individual support. His conclusion is that the tax system is complex enough. And there is also plenty of redistribution in Germany. He's right. Therefore, he should quickly abolish the taxation of the December aid.