The SPD wants to relieve the burden on many heirs and in return ask people to pay who receive even larger assets. The plan outrages many business owners, but it opens an important debate.
© Evelyn Dragan for DIE ZEIT
With the Inheritance tax Here’s the thing: it doesn’t affect most people. Their parents, grandma or uncle leave or give them so little money that they stay within the allowances and don’t have to pay any tax at all. A not insignificant part of the population goes completely empty-handed.
Despite this – or perhaps precisely because of this – many people in the country are concerned about how inheritances are taxed, especially when assets worth millions or even billions are passed on from one generation to the next. Many feel the current system is unfair. According to a representative survey by Forsa from September 2025, six out of ten people in the country would like to see heirs to large fortunes taxed higher.
