They pay taxes here too: Wagenknecht attacks the top 1% over child benefit
Volksverpetzer
An old debate is making headlines again: Claims about child benefit payments abroad are being picked up by politicians and the media. But what do the latest figures actually show—and what role do the millions of EU workers who pay taxes and social security contributions in Germany play?
2.7 million EU citizens work in Germany, paying taxes and social security contributions. Fairly enough, they also receive child benefit, just like everyone else. Only around 1 percent of all child benefit goes to accounts abroad at all. Wagenknecht is still inciting against these families, using outdated figures to boot. And far too many media outlets simply repeat it. It is so easy to turn people against their colleagues and their children.
Wagenknecht incites against approx. 1 percent of child benefit – and the media dutifully repeat it
The debate about child benefit for foreigners is actually rather a lame duck. Approximately every six months, an alleged “child benefit scandal” is staged and the outrage machine is brought out (for example here, here or here). Then nonsensical figures are quickly cobbled together, the right-wing bubble goes wild, and in the end even reputable media outlets jump on the bandwagon. We at Volksverpetzer have already taken a critical look at this several times.
And this week it happened again. There were no new figures, just a statement from Sahra Wagenknecht and the BSW. Nevertheless, the news agency AFP picked it up, and Bild and Welt jumped right on it. And Stern and Spiegel followed suit. And once again, a right-wing populist campaign has succeeded. But hardly anyone took the trouble to check the underlying figures from a press release.
The facts:
- Only around 1 percent of child benefit goes to children abroad at all – because their parents work in Germany.
- There has been no increase and no record high. The number of children for whom child benefit is paid abroad is at its lowest level in five years.
- The figures also include German children whose parents receive child benefit abroad. Do we really want to cut off their child benefit?
- The figures are not “exclusive” either, but are published online monthly by the Family Benefits Office .
So why did so many report on it anyway?
For one thing, there were the supposedly clear figures. The number of child benefit recipients abroad had tripled. Oh wow! But that is only true if you compare the figures for 2026 with those for 2011 (why ever?!). And perhaps it is worth knowing this as well: The number of EU foreigners working in Germany has also tripled during this time. And anyone who works here is also entitled to child benefit. So this development is only fair.
Secondly, there was the exaggerated framing: In her statement, Wagenknecht said that the German state was being “bled white like a Christmas goose”. Naturally, that is perfect for quoting. Unfortunately, it is not true. The German state has benefited enormously from EU workers in recent years. All job growth in recent years is attributable to foreign workers! These foreigners therefore stuffed the goose in the first place; they did not bleed it white.
Ten times more EU foreigners pay social security contributions to the state
Anyone who wants to turn child benefit into a scandal focuses on a tiny excerpt and fails to see the bigger picture. While child benefit is currently paid, entirely rightfully, to 234,000 children abroad, there are 2.7 million EU foreigners working in Germany in jobs subject to social security contributions. They all pay taxes and social security contributions from which the German state benefits. Foreigners generate a significant part of our prosperity. The populist Wagenknecht presents it exactly the other way around.
And then there are the “courageous” demands from second- and third-tier CDU politicians who, like Sahra Wagenknecht, populistically demand that children abroad should no longer receive child benefit at all. The problem: Years ago, the European Court of Justice ruled that this is not permissible. Anyone who benefits from foreign EU workers in their own country must also pay them the same benefits as domestic workers. That is simply EU law.
All in all, Wagenknecht and the BSW have revived an old social-envy debate here, far removed from the actual figures and facts. The statistics were selectively picked out and the framing was inflammatory and contrary to all the facts. It is just a shame that so many media outlets have once again allowed themselves to be used for a right-wing populist campaign like a Christmas goose being bled white.