German coalition targets €7bn at small firms as economy stagnates

Tax package part of a 10-point blueprint for fostering investment and boosting competitiveness and productivity

German chancellor Olaf Scholz: Dispute in coalition.

Germany’s ruling coalition agreed on an expanded package of tax-relief measures for companies worth about €7bn a year, part of a 10-point plan designed to lift Europe’s biggest economy out of stagnation.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the tax measures in a statement on the opening day of a two-day cabinet retreat in Meseberg, north of Berlin.