A German government plan to introduce a "rich tax" for top earners and slash tax breaks for commuters and others cleared its final parliamentary hurdle Friday. The bill's approval by the upper house of parliament, which is firmly controlled by Chancellor Angela Merkel's left-right grand coalition, clears the way for the changes to take effect Jan. 1. They are part of the government's effort to bring the German budget deficit within a European Union-imposed limit after years of being over the cap. The plan is expected to raise nearly 18 billion euros ($23 billion) between 2007 and 2010. It will introduce a new top income tax rate of 45 percent that will apply to top earners -- people with a taxable income of 250,000 euros ($319,000) or more, or couples with an income of more than 500,000 euros ($638,000).