Overview
- The Greens made their plan public on Tuesday, submitting a Bundestag motion that targets net fortunes above €500 million with a linear‑progressive levy that starts at 2%, rises to 3% at €1 billion and tops out at 4% from €10 billion.
- The party says the charge would be a marginal rate only on the amount above each threshold, and it would credit existing taxes such as income tax against the new levy to avoid double taxation.
- Greens estimate the measure could raise about €20 billion a year and direct revenues to federal, state and municipal budgets to help plug shortfalls in services such as childcare and housing support.
- The proposal would affect only a few hundred households—about the richest 0.0007% of the population—reflecting the party’s argument that very large fortunes currently bear a lower tax share than average earners.
- Implementation faces legal hurdles because Germany has not had a net wealth tax since a 1997 Constitutional Court ruling on unequal asset valuation, and coverage shows the SPD is open to tougher wealth taxes while the wider parliamentary majority and court review remain uncertain.