Free Republic

With Germany raking in more taxes due to strong economic performance, the leader of its liberal party has suggested state officials are enriching themselves at the cost of the taxpayer. “The greed of the state has taken on kleptocratic characteristics,” Christian Lindner, head of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) told Handelsblatt on Wednesday. A kleptocracy is a form of government in which officials corruptly use public funds for personal gain. “The yearly tax intake of the state is set to be €100 billion higher in 2020 than this year, if we don’t act. For the FDP, it is clear that...

Ahead of a meeting of the 27 remaining European Union nations in Brussels on Saturday, Chancellor Angela Merkel briefed the German parliament, the Bundestag, about Germany’s strategy vis-à-vis Brexit. But at least in part, her message was aimed across the English Channel. The chancellor warned London not to expect a deal that would privilege the UK. “A third-party state cannot enjoy the same advantages or be better positioned than an EU member state,” Merkel said. “I have the feeling that some people in Britain maintain illusions in this regard. They’re wasting their time.” That line drew applause from members of...

Britain has reclaimed its place as one of the top five countries that firms look to make deals in, just six months after dropping off the list in the wake of the country’s surprise to leave the European Union, according to a survey released Monday. In its half-yearly report of business executives, consulting firm EY said Britain has rebounded to be the third most attractive destination for mergers and acquisitions, behind the U.S. and China. Last October, in the wake of the Brexit vote, it had slumped to seventh and out of the top five for the first time in...

A new report by the OECD reveals that Germany is second only to Belgium when it comes to high tax rates in developed countries worldwide. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported on Tuesday that Germany has the second highest tax rate after Belgium, when comparing 35 developed countries around the world. The OECD calculated each country’s tax wedge — the gap between what employers take home in pay and what it costs to employ them, including personal income tax and social security contributions. Germany had a tax wedge for single, childless workers of 49.4 percent, behind Belgium...

Britain remains a key ally for the European Union and NATO, a spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday, as London formally launched the process to quit the bloc. “We must not forget that the UK is still a partner, in NATO and in Europe,” Ulrike Demmer told journalists, adding that London’s Brexit notification would give “us more clarity” on how Britain planned to handle the divorce process. “On this basis, the 27 member states and EU institutions will define their interests and aims,” Demmer said, adding that Berlin was “well prepared” for the coming negotiations. German foreign ministry...

One in ten German firms present in Britain plans to stop investing in the island nation even before it definitively leaves the European Union, an industry group survey published on Tuesday found. German firms believe Brexit “will seriously damage business with the United Kingdom,” said Eric Schweitzer, president of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), which surveyed 2,200 internationally active companies. Some nine percent of firms who have invested in the UK plan to shift investments elsewhere, with Germany and the rest of the EU the top choices. Britain is the third-biggest export market for Germany...

The UK is handing control of Europe’s destiny to Germany by leaving the EU, Lord Heseltine has claimed. The Tory peer, sacked as a government adviser after defying the whip over Brexit, said the Germans had lost World War Two but the UK was now giving them the “opportunity to win the peace”. “I find that quite unacceptable,” he told the House Magazine. […] Not only would Brexit alter the balance of power in Europe, he suggested that for many people of his generation, the UK’s decision might be regarded as a betrayal of the country’s fight against the Nazis....

A growing gap between rich and poor in Germany could sap social cohesion in Europe’s largest economy and most populous country, a government report warned on Thursday. “If the differences between poor and rich are felt to be too big in a society, and wealth seems mostly to be acquired without rewarding work, then acceptance of the economic and social order can shrink,” the labor ministry study said. […] In Germany, the richest 10 percent of households own more than half of all the wealth in the country, while the poorest 50 percent hold around 1.0 percent, Labor Minister Andrea...

Germany could take the United States to court if Washington goes ahead with plans to tax imports, Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said Friday, hours before Chancellor Angela Merkel’s first meeting with Donald Trump. “I’m betting partly on reason and partly on the courts” to prevent a damaging trade war, Zypries told Deutschlandfunk public radio. The minister’s combative stance comes ahead of Merkel’s first meeting with Trump in Washington and a gathering of G20 finance ministers in Baden-Baden, western Germany, set to be dominated by the US president’s “America First” policy. […] If a US border tax was found to breach...

What most Germans can agree upon is that the EU cannot stay as it is. But when it comes to how change should look, views differ sharply. The EU is about to celebrate its 60th birthday, but its age is showing. The British have opted to leave, while Euroskeptic parties are growing in popularity in major members, such as France and the Netherlands. In Germany too, the anti-Euro Alternative for Germany (AfD) are set to win their first seats in the Bundestag (German parliament) this September. And it seems that the German electorate are also restless for change. A YouGov...

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday stressed their commitment to free trade ahead of a G20 finance ministers’ meeting set to be dominated by debate on protectionism. The two leaders spoke by telephone and said in a statement issued in Berlin that they would “together fight for free trade and open markets”. Finance ministers from the world’s top economies are gathering in Germany from Friday as fears grow that US President Donald Trump could upend the global economic order with his “America First” policy challenging open markets. Meanwhile, Merkel is set to hold her first meeting with...

A satirical Carnival float showing the British Prime Minister with a ‘Brexit’ gun in her mouth is set to become an iconic new addition to a Unite for Europe campaign. The float made its debut at the Düsseldorf Carnival last month, which traditionally entertains guests with politically satirical floats mocking major politicians. It depicts Theresa May sticking a gun emblazoned with “Brexit” into her mouth, over the words “Good luck, Great Britain!” The float’s creator, Jacques Tilly, was reportedly about to get rid of it when he got a call from Peter French of the Unite for Europe campaign, according...

The German government told Washington it had the wrong address, after the US administration tried to enter talks with Germany on trade. “Trade policy is the responsibility of the European Union,” a spokesperson for the Economy Ministry told its US counterparts when they tried to open discussion on trade, Spiegel reported on Tuesday. Peter Navarro, who heads the White House’s new National Trade Council, called for bilateral talks to reduce the US trade deficit with Germany on Monday. The US recorded a $502-billion trade deficit last year, meaning it imported more than it exported. Germany, meanwhile, exported €253 billion ($270...

Britain will have to pay a “very hefty” bill to leave the European Union and negotiating a new relationship with the bloc will take years, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker warned today (21 February). Prime Minister Theresa May hopes to trigger the Brexit negotiations by the end of March following the shock referendum in June last year. […] “The British must know — and they know it already — that it will not be at a discount or zero cost,” the former Luxembourg premier said in his hour-long speech. […] European sources said Brussels could hand Britain an exit bill...

German residential real estate is overvalued by up to 30 percent, the central bank warned as part of its monthly report for February, released on Monday. The Bundesbank said the German economy should retain a strong footing in the coming months thanks to high industrial and construction activity, but warned this could not fully account for a recent surge in residential property prices. […] Home prices in German cities rose by 8 percent in 2016 after rising by an annual average of 6.75 percent in the previous six years, according to Bundesbank calculations based on data from consultancy firm Bulwiengesa....

Social Democrat (SPD) leader Martin Schulz could be facing a possible scandal as details have emerged regarding unusual contracts he made for friends when European Union President. The allegations of potential misconduct by the former European Union president revolve mostly around a man named Markus Engels, a long-time confidant of Schulz and his current campaign manager for the German federal elections later this year. According to reports, Schulz gave Engels a lavish contract in 2012 to represent Schulz interests in Berlin, though he was registered in Brussels — allowing him to avoid large amounts of tax, Der Spiegel reports.

Washington has a prime opportunity to slap 100 percent tariffs on key EU exports. Iconic European products ranging from Roquefort cheese to Vespa scooters will soon be in Donald Trump’s sights.The billionaire property tycoon won the U.S. presidency on a highly protectionist agenda and vowed to slash the country’s eye-watering deficits with leading trade partners. While China and Mexico have borne the brunt of his early threats, he now has a prime opportunity to box out some of Europe’s most famous exports. Next Wednesday, the U.S. trade representative will hold a public hearing on slapping an eventual 100 percent import...

Germany has completed an effort to bring home 300 metric tons (330.7 tons) of gold stashed in the United States, part of a plan to repatriate gold bars kept abroad during the Cold War. The German central bank said it brought 111 tons of gold back from the Federal Reserve in New York last year, concluding in September — the last of 300 tons slated for return. […] Once the transfers are completed, Frankfurt will hold half of Germany’s 3,378 tons of reserve gold, with the rest in New York and London. […] During the Cold War, West Germany kept...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said European leaders may commit to a union of “different speeds” when they make a major declaration on its future at a summit in Rome next month. The European Union has long been riven by debate about whether all countries must commit to full integration including the single currency, or whether some can go at different paces. The 27 leaders minus Britain are due to make a declaration at the summit in Rome in March marking the 60th anniversary of the EU, in which they will set out a post-Brexit roadmap. …

A program to pay asylum applicants in Germany to return to their home countries, often before a decision is made on their status, has begun. The government wants to increase the number of people who choose to leave. The program “StartHilfe Plus,” which loosely translates to “start help plus,” began on Wednesday. Administered by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the initiative aims to financially reward asylum applicants if they are willing to return to their homelands. About €40 million ($43 million) has been set aside for payments. “In...