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Germany's tax policy

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A wealth tax has not been levied in Germany since 1997. The trigger was a 1995 ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, which did not prohibit the tax as such but objected to the unequal valuation of different types of assets, above all the favoring of real estate over other assets, as a violation of the principle of equality. The government of the day did not reform the tax but let it lapse, even though Article 106 of the Basic Law still lists the wealth tax as a permissible type of tax and a constitutionally compliant new regulation would be legally possible. Since then, the SPD has repeatedly called for its reintroduction, most prominently in the 2021 federal election campaign, while the CDU/CSU and FDP reject it; in parallel, there has been recurring dispute over a tightening of the inheritance tax. This long-running argument over the taxation of large fortunes forms the backdrop for the tax debate in the CDU/CSU-led coalition with the SPD under Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

ZDFheute: Entlastung der Mitte, SPD will Vermögensteuer einführenForschungsstelle Arbeit der Zukunft: Comeback der Vermögensteuer, rechtlich wäre der Weg frei

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Saturday, 18 July 2026Economy

SPD makes wealth and inheritance tax a defining issue

After the summer recess, the SPD wants to sharpen its dispute with the CDU/CSU over higher taxes on wealth and inheritances. General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf declared the reintroduction of a wealth tax a “key issue.” He justifies this by arguing that profits are ending up with ever fewer people.

Klüssendorf announced that the SPD would fight the CDU/CSU for a return of the wealth tax and higher inheritance taxes, blaming decades of misguided tax policy. The liberal Die Zeit and the conservative Die Welt both report on the initiative but assess it from different vantage points: while the SPD frames it as a question of distributive justice, in the conservative camp it is read as a burden on the business location and on high performers. The dispute comes within a CDU/CSU-led coalition in which the SPD is the junior partner, which makes implementation more difficult. Sourcing on this day is thin and rests mainly on the SPD's initiative itself. Whether it amounts to more than campaign rhetoric remains to be seen.

Die ZeitDie Welt