Berlin’s incumbent Mayor, Kai Wegner (CDU), insists that an inheritance tax is unavoidable for Germany’s financial stability. Speaking to RTL and ntv’s “Frühstart” segment on Tuesday, Wegner stated that the country requires a comprehensive package including tax reform, cuts in subsidies, and contributions from the wealthy. He asserted that action must be taken regarding the wealth tax to ensure that those with significantly greater means contribute their share according to the principle of solidarity.
Furthermore, Wegner emphasized that the tax reform must result in palpable relief for citizens. He noted the challenges people face in funding their weekly groceries due to significantly increased food prices. While he did not set specific income thresholds for higher tax rates, he warned against placing an excessive burden on skilled workers or small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). He emphasized that the tax burden should not fall on a skilled worker or a master baker at the highest tax rate, insisting that the effort must be rewarded. Instead, the focus must be on top incomes and individuals with genuinely high assets who should contribute more significantly.
This stance represents a major deviation from his party’s previous policy; the CDU generally rejects an inheritance tax, a position that CDU party chairman and former Chancellor Friedrich Merz has repeatedly maintained. In contrast, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has advocated for the reintroduction of a wealth tax for many years.
According to Article 106 of the Basic Law, revenues from a wealth tax belong to the federal states. This tax has not been collected since 1997, following a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court that deemed the previous calculation method unconstitutional.
