SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf announced during discussions with RTL and ntv that the Social Democratic Party aims to close loopholes in inheritance tax and impose higher taxes on substantial wealth.
Klüssendorf highlighted that in certain federal states, such as Bavaria, the current exemptions related to gift tax have been so extensive that billions of euros have been transferred in recent years without a single cent of tax being paid. He noted that the current system disincentivizes people by effectively forcing them to budget as if they were poorer. The SPD intends to eliminate these tax loopholes, potentially generating an extra ten-digit or two-digit billion euros in revenue.
He stated that the party plans to discuss an inheritance tax reform with its coalition partners in the second half of the year. A major constraint historically has been preserving business assets, a concern the party acknowledges, especially given the need to secure jobs in small and medium-sized enterprises. To address this, the SPD has proposed a corporate exemption of five million euros, a threshold that would cover nearly 90 percent of all businesses and companies in Germany.
While admitting that the current system is not viable-pointing out that two of the wealthiest families possess assets equivalent to the lower half of the population-Klüssendorf also outlined a concept for smaller inheritances, proposing a threshold of one million euros for minor transfers.
Furthermore, Klüssendorf suggested that the income generated from both a reformed inheritance tax and the potential reintroduction of a wealth tax would flow directly back to the state and local governments. This funding would immediately support essential services such as education, care, upbringing, and policing, which are managed regionally and communally.
The SPD General Secretary also advocated for bringing back a system of wealth taxation. He mentioned considering a high-end asset limit of 100 million euros. Drawing on the idea that these wealthy individuals benefit from their assets generating annual returns, he argued that society should demand a contribution from those gains. Klüssendorf proposed a wealth tax rate of one percent above the €100 million threshold, suggesting this measure could yield double-digit billion-euro revenues, which would provide significant financial relief to the federal states.
