Overview
- SPD lawmakers formally presented the concept on Tuesday, framing it as a fairness-focused simplification that moves more taxation onto very large inheritances.
- The plan replaces the ten-year reuse of allowances with a €1 million lifetime allowance per person (€900,000 from family, €100,000 from others), while an owner-occupied inherited home remains tax-free if used as a primary residence.
- For company transfers, a €5 million allowance would apply and tax above that could be deferred for up to 20 years, while broad preferential exemptions for business assets would be abolished.
- The paper proposes a single progressive tariff but leaves rates unspecified, with details to be negotiated with the Union and timing influenced by the pending Bundesverfassungsgericht decision.
- SPD estimates low single-digit billions in additional Länder revenue to be invested in education, as CDU/CSU, business groups and economists warn of risks to the Mittelstand and investment, while labor-linked economists and social groups back the shift toward greater equity.