Berlin – Following the contentious adoption of citizens’ money reform, the Social Democratic Partyโ (SPD) is now intensifying calls โขfor increased taxation of high-net-worth individuals.Both the left-leaning Jusos and the more conservativeโข Seeheimer Kreis factionsโข within the โฃSPD parliamentary group are advocating for revisions to Germany’s inheritance and gift โคtax laws.
Documents outlining the proposals, prepared by both groups for upcoming โคdiscussions, reveal a shared concern over wealth inequality. The Juso motion,slated for โtheir congress at โฃthe end of โNovember,frames the issue as a threat โฃto โthe democratic โorder,stating,”This contradiction between capital and labor threatens to destroy the democratic and social constitutional state. Experiences of disappointment destroy trust and lead people to turn away fromโ democracy. Theโข answer to this development is consistent class struggle.”
Theโค Seeheimer Kreis paper highlightsโ that over half of โprivate assets in Germany are acquired through inheritance or gifts-a trend that isโ increasing. They argue this perpetuates inequalityโ of opportunity and fuels social division.
SPD parliamentarian Parsa Marvi, co-author of the Seeheimer paper withโ Philipp Rottwilm, told the Editorial Network Germany โค(RND), “It cannot stay as it is: large corporate assets can be transferred almost tax-free, while โคsmaller inheritancesโ are burdened relatively more heavily.” Marvi emphasized the need to appropriatelyโค tax veryโ large inheritances to secure jobs, companies, and โขprovide relief to families, โขurging the coalition government to adopt this as aโ joint project. Rottwilm also advocated for a worldwide โcompany pension scheme.
Juso leader Philipp Tรผrmer criticized the governing coalition’s pace of progress on social justice โคissues, stating, “After sixโข months, this coalitionโ is also dancing around many construction โฃsites rather โof providing actual answers to pressing questions of justice.” He stressed the needโ for a strong โขsocial democracy that confidently upholds โit’s values, adding, “The extremely worrying development of the SPDโฆalso obliges us Jusos to question ourselves critically.”
