BERLIN, April 4 (Reuters) - Germany's Economy Minister is proposing income tax cuts to as a way to stimulate the economy and help households through the economic crisis, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg's spokesman said on Saturday.
Reached by telephone, Steffan Moritz confirmed a newspaper report which said the ministry had proposed a reduction of income tax that would focus on lower-income families.
"It is correct," Guttenberg's spokesman said by telephone when asked if a report in the Passauer Neuen Presse was true.
The report cited ministry documents which it said outlined proposals to raise the base level of income tax exemption and soften taxes for the first bracket of income above it.
The economy ministry alone cannot enact tax reform -- it would first have to pass a difficult muster in Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet, whose members come from both the left and right sides of politics, before heading to parliament. (Reporting by Thorsten Severin and Brian Rohan; Editing by Ron Askew)