The Finance Ministry rejects international billionaire tax
The FDP-led Federal Finance Ministry rejects the tax for billionaires discussed at the G20 level. "We don't consider the idea of a global minimum wealth tax to be effective," sources in the ministry say. Internationally, the idea proposed by this year's G20 presidency, Brazil, is not consensus-building. The topic will therefore not be specifically addressed at the meeting of the finance ministers of leading industrial and emerging countries in this week's Rio de Janeiro gathering.
The Finance Ministry instead advocates for stronger measures against asset concealment and tax evasion. "This must be combated transnationally," it was stated.
Brazil's concept involves billionaires annually paying at least 2% of their wealth to their home country. This could lead to revenues of up to 250 billion Dollars, which could be used for fighting hunger and conflicts, pandemic preparedness, and climate protection. Development Minister Svenja Schulze has publicly expressed her support for the idea.
The billionaire tax is not the only contentious issue that is to be excluded from the final document of the Finance Ministers' Meeting. The varying assessments of the G20 countries regarding the Russian war against Ukraine and the conflict in the Near East should not appear in the communiqué, but only in a separate paper of the hosting country.
Since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, no final declarations have been achieved due to Russia's membership in the G20 and its rejection of any mention of the war. Germany will be represented at the Brazil meeting by Finance State Secretary Heiko Thoms, while Finance Minister Christian Lindner will not attend.
The Finance Ministry firmly opposes incorporating the discussion on a billionaire tax in the G20 agenda, as expressed by the Federal Finance Ministry's sources. Despite Brazil proposing a billionaire tax with potential revenue of 250 billion Dollars, the Finance Ministry prefers to focus on tackling asset concealment and tax evasion globally.
