Overview

• Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced after meeting Bavaria’s cabinet on the Zugspitze that Europe’s rollout of a 15 percent corporate minimum tax should be paused.
• He argued the measure has lost effectiveness since the United States withdrew, warning that a Europe-only implementation would impose higher costs on companies.
• The federal cabinet is scheduled to review Merz’s proposal this week but has not yet made a formal decision.
• Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil supports the G7 compromise that exempts U.S. firms from the global tax floor in favour of a parallel U.S. regime.
• Greens lawmakers criticised the chancellor’s stance as favouring international corporations over workers and small businesses, underscoring a domestic political divide.