SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf announced a sharp political confrontation with the Union regarding the potential reintroduction of a wealth tax and an increase in inheritance tax following the summer break.
Klüssendorf emphasized the growing issue of wealth concentration in Germany, stating, “More and more wealth is concentrated, especially in real estate and business ownership. This means the profits are flowing to fewer and fewer people.” He attributed this trend partly to the policy choices of previous decades, arguing that fundamental changes are urgently needed in inheritance and gift tax, alongside the activation of a wealth tax. He vowed that the SPD would prioritize this issue throughout the year.
Anticipating a landmark decision on inheritance tax coming out of Karlsruhe at the end of the year, the SPD leader claimed that the Union will likely be forced to admit the necessity of intervention. Alongside fairer inheritance taxes, Klüssendorf insists that the reinstatement of the wealth tax must form part of a comprehensive package for which the party will fight decisively.
He also placed responsibility on SPD leader and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, asserting that the party must regain credibility by advocating for the return of the wealth tax and a just reform of inheritance tax, a demand voiced legitimately by the party base and citizens. Klüssendorf noted that the problem of growing wealth concentration has been recognized by figures within the Union, such as Jens Spahn and Michael Kretschmer, and suggested that Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder should also act to ensure greater social fairness.
To explain his stance, Klüssendorf argued that current taxes on income, corporations, and consumer goods have reached their limits when attempting to create greater distribution equality. Simultaneously, he pointed out that billionaires treat earning less than ten percent as a bad financial year, even if that profit still amounts to €100 million. He strongly asserted that nobody can afford to ignore the risk of wealth concentration within rapidly growing capitalism, asserting that the wealth tax was originally designed to curb such developments. “We can legitimately claim today that this instrument must be used again,” he stated. “It cannot be acceptable that today, a single parent is taxed more heavily than a billionaire. The founders of our Basic Law rightly enshrined taxes on inheritances and wealth into the constitution.”
Regarding the detailed plan against tax fraud and evasion, presented by Klingbeil and Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig, Klüssendorf considered it preliminary. He stressed the need to gather more comprehensive data on the scale of tax losses and the extent of wealth concentration. He remarked, “We know pretty accurately which basic security recipient has which washing machine at home. But we know almost nothing about where the richest people park their assets and how they ‘optimize’ their taxes.”
Concerning the potential scale of the wealth tax, Klüssendorf indicated that based on internationally discussed proposals, it could amount to one percent annually on wealth exceeding €100 million. He noted that this alone would yield multi-billion euro sums, which could immediately help local and state governments fulfill their constitutional duties-from modern schools and proper childcare to a strong police force. Posing a critical question, he asked, “Why are we foregoing this and allowing our society to drift further apart?”
