The New Year ushered in a tax relief package in Germany worth several billion euros, the first realisation of a campaign pledge made by Chancellor Angela Merkel's new government.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned in a New Year's television address to be broadcast on Thursday that the effects of the country's worst post-war recession would drag into 2010.
The head of the Free Democratic Party's (FDP) parliamentary faction Birgit Homburger has labelled the idea of taxing manager's bonuses "populist," after both Great Britain and France declared their intention to do so.
Germans have less faith in their political system than at any point in the post-war period, mainly due to what they see as a weak response to the financial crisis, a poll published Sunday showed.
Chamber of commerce presidents and industry associations have come to the defence of Berlin's tax cut plans following the harsh criticism from leading economic research institutes.
The presidents of Germany's five major economic research institutes have increased pressure on the German government over its controversial tax cut plans. They have called on the chancellor to balance the country's books.
Senior government figures spoke out against a spike in the contribution German workers pay towards unemployment insurance on Wednesday, as a whirlwind of debate raged over how to get the nation’s finances back under control.
Employees in Germany would have to pay much more towards unemployment insurance under a new plan to slash the government deficit, daily <i>Süddeutsche Zeitung</i> reported Tuesday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel scored a key political victory as a disputed tax relief package passed the upper house of parliament Friday despite serious reservations from the country's states worried about their tattered public finances.
A majority of Germans support a special tax on the bonuses earned by bankers in the wake of the global financial crisis, according to a survey released on Wednesday.
The two parties of Germany's ruling coalition, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), are at loggerheads over the issue of licence fees for state broadcasting.
Josef Ackermann, the head of Deutsche Bank, said on Friday the German banking sector would adhere to self-regulation on salaries and bonuses similar to G20 recommendations this year.
Health insurers in Germany can no longer rule out millions in euros of additional fees for customers following a recent analysis of state-run health insurance (GKV) budgets, daily <i>Frankfurter Rundschau</i> reported on Friday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that plans to tax the bonuses of London bankers was a "very charming idea" but did not say whether Berlin was prepared to heed a Franco-British call to adopt the policy.
Lower Saxony’s state premier Christian Wulff said Tuesday he would back Chancellor Merkel’s controversial fiscal package – a plan that many of her own conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) have threatened to torpedo over major losses in state tax revenues.
Members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats are worried proposed cuts in hotel sales tax could boost prostitution by making hourly establishments cheaper, daily <i>Süddeutsche Zeitung</i> reported on Wednesday.
The brawl between Angela Merkel’s government and Germany’s state leaders over tax cuts intensified sharply over the weekend with two conservative premiers vowing to vote against the cuts and one even threatening to resign.
The January 2010 tax cuts planned by Chancellor Angela Merkel's new centre-right coalition faced failure on Friday amid growing resistance from Germany's states. Politicians are now discussing the possibility of pushing the changes back to 2011.
In a ruling with potentially wide-ranging fiscal consequences, a court in the state of Lower Saxony on Wednesday ruled a long-standing “solidarity tax” to help fund German reunification was unconstitutional.
A panel of top economists believes Chancellor Angela Merkel's new centre-right government should take back its "gift baskets" of tax relief in light of Germany's huge public debt.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble on Thursday ruled out a major tax reform before 2013, potentially setting the stage for conflict within Chancellor Angela Merkel's new centre-right coalition.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel set the course of her new centre-right coalition on Tuesday, spelling out the economic and social challenges she aims to tackle over the next four years.
Software errors in billing software have likely funnelled billions of euros in unjustified charges from Germany's national healthcare fund to insurers, broadcaster ARD reported on Tuesday.
The German government on Monday adopted a package of fiscal measures worth €8.5 billion ($12.7 billion) including tax cuts and benefits aimed at underpinning economic growth.
Less than six weeks after giving Chancellor Angela Merkel another term in office, a new survey says one in six German voters regrets their decision on September 27 and would now pick a different party.
