Germany’s commissioner for eastern affairs, Elisabeth Kaiser, has proposed financial equalisation between federal states with high and low inheritance-tax revenues. Her proposal comes amid debate about the uneven distribution of wealth between eastern and western Germany.
In a guest article for Rheinische Post accompanying the annual report on German unity, Kaiser cited 2023 figures: average net household wealth was €125,500 in eastern Germany and €257,100 in the west. Average household real-estate wealth was €97,800 in the east, compared with €214,500 in the west.
Kaiser said the figures do not show that people in the east save less or are less willing to take risks. She attributed the gap to different economic and ownership systems and to changes that followed reunification in 1990.
She argued that exemptions and preferential treatment for very large transfers should be reviewed, alongside the federal mechanism for distributing tax revenue. If fairer taxation of large inheritances raises additional money, Kaiser said, the revenue should not benefit only the states that already collect the most.
States fund schools, universities and infrastructure, helping shape conditions for economic development. Kaiser said people who inherit little should not lose twice—first through lower private wealth and then through fewer public opportunities in their state.