When Lindner and Söder argue: Bad game with real estate heirs

Created: 12/16/2022, 6:00 p.m

By: Georg Anastasiadis

Federal Finance Minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner;

a commentary by Merkur Editor-in-Chief Georg Anastasiadis.

© Kay Nietfeld/dpa/Klaus Haag

It's been official since Friday: From the beginning of the year, taxes for real estate heirs will increase drastically in Germany.

Instead of preventing or mitigating this together, the FDP and CSU preferred to try to trick each other.

A commentary by Georg Anastasiadis.

So now it's happened: After Bavaria's defeat in the Bundesrat vote yesterday, heirs to real estate will have to pay much higher taxes from January 1, 2023 - because the Federal Constitutional Court on the one hand demanded a more realistic valuation of land, houses and apartments and on the other hand the parties disagreed despite the loud noise could not agree on higher allowances than those in force since 2013.

A number of those affected will not be able to cope with the higher loads - and will have to sell the family home.

In addition to the damage, heirs (and those who could soon become one) are also annoyed that the FDP and Union have also taken them for fools.

While the SPD and the Greens openly campaigned for more heirs to be used to finance the state, the FDP and CSU used great acting skills to present themselves as their patron saints.

For example, FDP boss Lindner of the CSU had cunningly “put the ball on the penalty spot” (original sound Lindner) by calling on Bavaria to first bring about a decision in the Bundesrat to increase the allowances, which the traffic light government would then implement.

Lindner already suspected that the plan would fail because of the state majority with SPD and Greens government participation.

And the CSU?

They linked their Federal Council proposal to increase the tax exemptions with the much more far-reaching demand that

Now comes the high taxes, but the FDP and CSU wash their hands of their "blame game".

And Markus Söder is threatening a constitutional lawsuit and is already looking forward to his Bavarian election campaign against the Berlin inheritance tax rip-offs.

So everything is fine.

Just not for the heirs.