Overview

• In an ARD interview on August 17, Jan van Aken proposed taxing fortunes over €1 million at 1%, over €50 million at 5%, and over €1 billion at 12% to fund social and infrastructure programs.
• He claimed the wealth tax would raise €108 billion annually and help Die Linke exceed 20% in voter support.
• Tagesschau’s Faktenfinder and other institutes report that revenue projections from Ernst & Young, ifo, DIW and others range from €1 billion to €30 billion and criticize the lack of a transparent methodology.
• His assertion that most Russian oil is rerouted through India and that Germany has taken no action on the ‘shadow fleet’ has been refuted by data showing China as the top importer and by German tanker insurance checks in effect since July.
• Die Linke plans to channel the wealth-tax proceeds into a rail infrastructure fund and roll out an anti-rent campaign to capitalize on its post-election momentum.