German Inheritance Wave Stokes Fears Over Inequality

Germany has enjoyed seventy years of political and economic stability. In recent years, this calm has led to a vibrant increase in wealth inheritance. The country wants to present itself as a meritocracy, but this could be problematic with the top 1% of the nation holding two-thirds of the net wealth. Jens Beckert, the director of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne, indicated that: “Inheritance perpetuates social inequality because it moves it from one generation to the next…Wealth stays at the top.”

There are concerns that German wealth being distributed so unequally is not good macro-economically or for the social order. Cansel Kiziltepe, an SDP MP, has proposed a higher inheritance tax as well as reintroducing the wealth tax. However, it is hard to justify the increase in taxing the richest citizens when the nation’s budget is currently in a surplus.

See Tobias Buck, German Inheritance Wave Stokes Fears Over Inequality, Financial Times, May 1, 2018.

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.