The Green Party intends to propose a novel tax aimed at wealthy individuals whose net worth exceeds €500 million. This initiative, detailed in a document titled “Fairly Involving Extreme Wealth,” is slated to be submitted to the Bundestag this week, according to a report by Die Zeit.
Under the proposed system, the tax rate starts at two percent for wealth above €500 million. This rate is designed to increase linearly and progressively: it reaches three percent at a net worth of one billion euros, and the maximum rate of four percent applies starting from ten billion euros.
In presenting the proposal, the Green Party argues that a socially balanced tax structure requires high-net-worth individuals to contribute more significantly to state finances. The party estimates that this new tax would affect only a few hundred households, representing just 0.0007% of the German population.
A central argument supporting the policy is the claim that this demographic group currently enjoys significant tax privilege compared to average earners. Karoline Otte, a Green Party member serving on the Bundestag’s finance committee and co-author of the document, stated that the current system is unfair, arguing, “In Germany, a billionaire who owns an entire supermarket chain pays less in taxes and levies than the woman working the cash register. That is not fair.”
Based on internal party calculations, the introduction of this new tax is projected to generate approximately €20 billion in additional state revenue.
