Germany is moving toward theabolition of the bonus for 18-year-olds, introduced in 2023 by the German government along the lines of our 18app: a bonus reserved for those who turn eighteen in the year, to be used for cultural expenses (in Italy it has in fact already been abolished by the Meloni government, which instead of 18app introduced the Carta Giovani, for eighteen-year-olds from families with ISEE under 35 thousand euros, and the Carta del Merito for those who promote with 100 in their high school diploma). The Kulturpass, as it is called in Germany, had already been cut in half last year, from 200 to 100 euros, but now it is in danger of going into the attic.
In fact, the Federal Audit Court stated in a report that the federal government has no constitutional authority to fund the project because cultural sovereignty rests with the states. Therefore, it recommends “ending federal funding and no further spending in the federal budget.” In its first two years, nearly 500,000 young people took advantage of the bonus, for a total investment of 100 million euros. However, the Kulturpass, introduced by former culture minister Claudia Roth (Greens), has been much criticized because it was considered by some in politics to be a kind of gratuity for 18-year-olds, and because it appears from statistics that one-third of the bonuses were spent on IT products.
The current minister of culture, Wolfram Weiner, has already announced that the intention is to suspend the bonus. “From now on,” he anticipated, “we will intensify other projects to promote culture among young people. We take the decision of the Federal Audit Court very seriously.” The Greens did not fail to express their disappointment: “It almost seems as if they want to suspend the Kulturpass or abolish it altogether. And that would be a very serious mistake.”
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| Germany, government plans to abolish culture bonus for 18-year-olds |
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