Tax reform dispute deepens as Lars Klingbeil criticizes Katherina Reiche

Germany’s planned tax reform remains the subject of an open dispute within the federal government. Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil is defending the proposal, while Economics Minister Katherina Reiche argues that it does not go far enough.

Reiche’s state secretary, Thomas Steffen, addressed a letter to the Finance Ministry calling for changes. The letter, seen by the German news agency dpa, includes a demand for additional measures against so-called bracket creep, in which rising incomes can push taxpayers into higher tax brackets.

Klingbeil criticized Reiche’s efforts to revise the proposal during a G20 ministerial meeting in the United States. “Opposition within the government will ultimately harm everyone,” he said.

The dispute leaves the reform contested inside the governing coalition. The report said the story was still being updated.

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Opposition within the government will ultimately harm everyone.