Flat Tax in Germany?

Steuerreform Deutschland Politik FOCUS Online in Kooperation mit MSN

It will certainly not happen in the immediate future, but the fact that the man that's been assigned the portofolio of economy and finance in opposition challenger Angela Merkel's team has spoken out in favour of a flat tax is significant in itself.

Professor Paul Kirchhof is a recognized expert in his field. His appointment to the team has been widely applauded.

And then suddenly he has said that his vision is a flat income tax of 25 %. That's a fairly radical departure, also fron the more modest ambitions of the common CDU/CSU platform. Accodingly, Angela Merkel has said that it is the platform that applies and nothing else.

But the genie of a more radical reform is out of the bottle, and it can't be brought back into it again.

It's as sure a sign as you can ask for that times are really changing.