Overview
- The SPD formally presented its concept in the Bundestag, proposing a lifelong €1 million personal allowance (€900,000 from family, €100,000 from others) and ending the recurring ten‑year gifting rule.
- Business inheritances would get a €5 million allowance, taxes above that could be deferred for up to 20 years, and self‑used family homes would remain tax‑free if occupied by heirs.
- The party calls for a simplified system with one tax class and progressive rates but left specific rates open for talks with the Union.
- SPD leaders say the reform would close loopholes that benefit very large estates and eventually raise low single‑digit billions for Länder budgets to invest in education.
- CDU/CSU officials and business groups warn of burdens on family firms and weaker investment, while some economists from labor‑aligned institutes back the shift toward tighter rules for large inheritances; a Constitutional Court ruling is expected later this year but not in the next months.