German Finance Minister Supports His Party’s Push for Wealth Tax

(Bloomberg) -- German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz backs the push by his Social Democratic party to reinstate a wealth tax, according to an interview with Handelsblatt.

Acting SPD leader Thorsten Schaefer-Guembel has said his party will on Monday discuss the introduction of wealth tax similar to that in Switzerland. “I closely followed the SPD working group and support its conclusion,” Scholz told the newspaper.

Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats -- the SPD’s coalition partner -- opposes a wealth tax. CDU/CSU deputy caucus leader Andreas Jung told Handelsblatt that while Germany faces challenges, it has record tax revenues. “We need to control the money, not a wealth tax,” he said.

Eric Schweitzer, president of Germany’s Chamber of Commerce, said the burden of such a tax would fall on companies, threatening much-need investment during an economic downturn.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexander Kell in Frankfurt at akell@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lukas Strobl at lstrobl@bloomberg.net, Dylan Griffiths, Nick Rigillo

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