This month in German Words Explained we are talking about types of tax that have been discontinued.

Tea was first taxed in Germany in the 17th Century.  At first it was the import of tea that was being taxed, but in 1953 this changed to be a tax on the sale of tea products.

The tax was discontinued at the beginning of 1993.

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Die Grünen is a name given to the Green Party in Germany.  Their official name is Bündnis 90/Die Grünen.

The Green Party was founded in Germany in 1980, and merged with Bündnis 90 in 1993.  Between 1998 and 2005 they formed a coalition government with the SPD.

Many of their policies are connected with the environment, so that they often take on government departments associated with this area when they form local coalitions.

The following politicians belonged or belong to the party: Joschka Fischer, Jürgen Trittin and Claudia Roth.

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FDP stands for Freie Demokratische Partei, and is a liberal political party in Germany.

The FDP was founded at the end of 1948, and has played a part in many national and regional governments ever since - often as a minority coalition partner.

The following politicians belonged or belong to the party: Theodor Heuss, Walter Scheel, Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Giudo Westerwelle.

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SPD stands for Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands and is one of the main political parties in Germany.

It is the oldest party in the German parliament, having been founded in the 2nd half of the 19th Century.

The following politicians belonged or belong to the party: Willy Brandt, Gerhard Schröder, Kurt Beck, Franz Müntefering, Erich Ollenhauer and Helmut Schmidt.

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Throughout June German Words Explained will be looking at the political parties in Germany.

This week we start with the Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (CDU) and the Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern (CSU).

The CDU was founded shortly after the end of the Second World War in 1945.  The following politicians belonged or belong to the party: Konrad Adenauer, Ludwig Erhard, Helmut Kohl, Theo Waigel, Norbert Blüm and Angela Merkel.

The CSU was founded in at the beginning of 1946, and is the CDU partner in Bavaria.

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The Jugendamt is an office, usually located in each Kreis or Kreisstadt and sometimes in other large towns.

The office is not only responsible for child protection and assisting parents that are unable to cope with their children, but also to arrange courses and activities for children.

They are also a point of contact for clubs and societies, eg. to apply for financial support to fund training courses or building repairs.  The rules for this vary from state to state.

Volunteers those clubs and societies can prove that they have a certain number of hours of training can go to the Jugendamt to apply for a JugendleiterInnen-Card, which gives them free or discounted entry to places such as swimming pools and museums.

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The Wahlamt is an office, usually located in the town hall, that is responsible for organising elections.

It splits a town up into Wahlbezirke and sends out the postcards that tell the people who live in the town where and when they can go to vote.

The office is also the place to go if you want to apply for a postal vote, or if someone is ill on the day of the election and sends someone else to collect their ballot paper.

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Jagdsteuer is a tax that has to be paid in Germany by people who either want to hunt or fish.

It is a tax that is paid locally, and some areas of Germany do not levy it at all.  The level of tax to be paid depends on the annual catch or on other factors such as the area hunted or fished.

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Hundesteuer is a tax that is paid by dog owners, similar to a dog license in other countries.

In the 19th Century the German state considered it a luxury for a private person to have a dog, hence the tax.

There are however exceptions, eg. for guard dogs - as long as these are owned by a company.

Dogs that are particularly dangerous often pay a higher rate of tax, whereas guide dogs pay less tax in some areas of Germany.

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Hausnotruf is a system offered my organisations such as the German Red Cross (DRK).

People who do not want to move into an old people’s home, but still want the peace of mind of being able call for help in an emergency use the system.  The have a red button on a necklace that they can press in an emergency, which contacts a base station which in turn dials an emergency call centre.  They then send out someone who has a key to the flat or house to help.

Some systems also offer a an option, whereby the user has to press a button on the base station eg. every 24 hours.  If they do not, they receive a call or help is sent out.  This can be useful if they are not able to press their button.

For more details on the Red Cross system, visit www.drk.de.

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