Made in Berlin: Are heirs unfairly regulated in Germany?

Is it fair that someone who inherits a terraced house has to pay more taxes than someone who inherits a billion-dollar company? The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe is currently examining whether exceptions for business assets are still constitutional. A man sued because he felt disadvantaged compared to company heirs.

In Berlin, too, the coalition has been arguing about inheritance tax reform for months. Handelsblatt capital city journalists Martin Greive and Josefine Fokuhl explain why this dispute raises a fundamental question of justice. They classify the reform proposals from the SPD and economists and show how the Union is positioning itself. “Probably no other tax brings in so little money, but at the same time is so competitive,” says Greive.

And because there is rarely just one topic on the agenda in Berlin, it is also about Bärbel Bas' surprising resignation from her positions as SPD co-leader and labor minister, as well as the question of what will happen next in the SPD.