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TV Clash Over Inheritance Tax Pits Greens’ Brantner Against CSU’s Huber

The televised confrontation underscores hardened positions pending a Constitutional Court ruling on the contested law.

Overview

  • On ZDF’s Markus Lanz, Franziska Brantner pressed CSU general secretary Martin Huber over his stance on redesigning Germany’s inheritance tax.
  • Huber urged regionalizing the levy so states could set their own rates and said Bavaria would cut the tax and raise exemptions.
  • Brantner cited the Bavarian constitution’s mandate to prevent the concentration of enormous private wealth, arguing Huber’s approach conflicts with that aim.
  • Confronted with the charge of weakening protections, Huber responded that he did not call for abolishing the inheritance tax.
  • The exchange comes after the SPD floated a fairness-focused concept criticized by the CDU and business groups, with parties awaiting a ruling on a 2022 constitutional complaint.