“It is primarily inheritance that determines wealth and poverty in Germany,” Schirdewan told the magazine “Stern” on Friday. To finance this, the opposition politician wants to “drastically increase” the inheritance tax from an amount of two million euros.
Well over 100 billion euros are inherited every year, but not evenly, argued the MEP. “The top ten percent of heirs and recipients receive regarding as much as the bottom 90 percent.” People in West Germany would also inherit regarding twice as much per capita as people in East Germany.
“Small compensation for the injustice of distribution”
Schirdewan therefore advocates that people with a German passport or their main residence in Germany should be paid a kind of basic inheritance amounting to an average annual income on their 18th birthday. That would be around 50,000 euros gross. This would be a “small compensation for the unfairness of the distribution,” said the co-head of the left-wing faction in the European Parliament.
For young people who have already inherited, the payment should be offset. “If someone inherits 50,000 euros following taxes before they turn 18, they only get half, i.e. 25,000 euros, basic inheritance,” says Schirdewan. “If someone inherits more than 100,000 euros beforehand, they will receive nothing when it comes to the basic inheritance.” Even if someone were to inherit following receiving the basic inheritance, according to the Left leader’s ideas, half of it should be retained until the 50,000 euros were reached.
