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Manuela Schwesig
Photo: IMAGO / IMAGO/BildFunkMV
The climate protection foundation MV has been criticized for a long time.
A report about allegedly destroyed tax documents and political influence on a tax authority increases the pressure on the government in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) has now commented on this.
The SPD politician has promised quick clarification in the case of possibly burned tax documents from the controversial climate foundation.
“The incident must be fully clarified.
I asked the Minister of Finance last night that he also comment on this question," Schwesig told Deutschlandfunk.
According to a report in the magazine "Cicero", a tax officer is said to have burned the tax returns from the climate foundation in a fireplace - out of concern for personal complications.
There was probably political pressure on the authorities, "Cicero" continued.
Schwesig, on the other hand, rejected any influence on the part of politics.
»But one thing is very clear: the question of how much tax someone has to pay is checked by the responsible tax authorities.
And the State Chancellery and especially the Prime Minister have no influence on that.«
Almost ten million euros in gift tax demanded
Finance Minister Heiko Geue (SPD) made it clear that the documents concerned had been requested and submitted.
He also rejected any political influence on the responsible tax office.
»The MV Climate and Environmental Protection Foundation has received notification of the payment of the gift tax from the responsible tax office.
There was no political influence on the processors in the tax office," said Geue on Thursday.
The question of how much tax a taxpayer has to pay is checked by the responsible tax office.
The state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is demanding 9.8 million euros in gift tax from the controversial climate protection foundation MV.
The foundation appealed the decision to the financial court in Greifswald.
A decision by the court is still pending, Geue said.
The climate foundation, endowed with millions from Russia, was already controversial before it was founded in January 2021.
The construct with the climate protection label was obviously primarily conceived to circumvent US sanctions for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
An investigative committee of the Schwerin parliament examines the institution.
asc/dpa
