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  Germany is poised to introduce substantial tax reductions to attract foreign skilled workers and address labor shortages. The proposed policy, spearheaded by Finance Minister Christian Lindner, aims to lower taxes for these workers by up to 30% for their initial three years in the country. The tax relief is structured to offer rebates of 30%, 20%, or 10%, depending on certain criteria that are yet to be fully outlined. This initiative is part of a broader effort to make Germany more appealing to international talent. The government hopes that by easing the financial burden, more skilled professionals will choose to relocate and contribute to the German economy. However, the proposal has sparked a debate. Critics, including some politicians and unions, argue that the policy might be unfair to domestic workers and those foreign employees already residing in Germany. They claim it could create an unequal playing field, favoring new arrivals over the current workforce. Despite the co...

  The trial against the "Reichsbürger" group, which allegedly planned to violently overthrow the German government, has begun in Munich. Alleged members are already on trial separately in Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Part of the nationwide trial against "Rheichsbürger" group begins in Munich The third trial against the "Reichsbürger" group around Heinrich XIII Prinz Reuss begins on Tuesday at the Munich Higher Regional Court (OLG). The members of the group are already on trial in Frankfurt and Stuttgart. The group is accused of planning a violent coup.  What do we know about the group? The group came to light after a large-scale anti-terror raid in several German states and abroad in December 2022.  The current total of 26 suspects are said to have planned a violent overthrow of the federal government. According to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, they consciously accepted the risk of death.  Reuss was to be the head of a new form of government. ...

  A local candidate for the far-right AfD party was attacked with a knife in Mannheim. The victim was hospitalized, and the perpetrator, who was said to have shown signs of mental illness, was arrested. Attacks against political figures have increased in recent weeks in Germany A suspect was arrested after a local council candidate for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was attacked with a knife, police and prosecutors said on Wednesday. The attack was the latest in a series of incidents against politicians that have heightened concerns over rising political violence in Germany. What we know about the incident The candidate was attacked after confronting an individual who was trying to remove an election poster on Tuesday, officials said. The perpetrator injured the man with a carpet knife. The politician was injured in the incident but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, a joint statement said. The German D...

Someone dug a meter-deep hole at the grave of German politician Wolfgang Schäuble, but didn't reach the coffin. The motive for the incident is not yet known. By Monday afternoon, only a rectangular patch of dirt could be seen at Schäuble's cemetery plot A hole more than a meter deep was discovered by city workers at the grave of German politician Wolfgang Schäuble in the southwestern city of Offenburg on Monday morning, triggering an investigation. Investigators said the hole was about 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) deep and did not reach the coffin of Schäuble, who died in December  at the age of 81. The criminal investigation department of the Offenburg police took over the investigation in cooperation with the public prosecutor's office. There is no information about a possible background or motive of the incident, according to the authorities. Police are looking for witnesses. Who was Wolfgang Schäuble? Schäuble was a member of the conservative Christian Democratic U...

The German economy has shown a marginal upturn in the first part of the year. The latest figures give some hope that Germany may be escaping the economic doldrums. Europe's largest economy grew in the first quarter of 2024, reversing a slump at the end of last year, according to Germany's Federal Statistical Office Destatis on Tuesday. The figure could vindicate those economists who have said Germany's energy-intensive economy could now be set for a turnaround after a period of slump. What is the German economy growth rate? Output rose by 0.2% from January to March compared with the previous three months, when the economy shrank by a revised 0.5%, Destatis said. The office said the latest increase reflected an improvement in both the construction industry and exports.  However, household consumption fell in the quarter, it added. There has been a prevailing mood of economic gloom in Germany, as businesses struggle with raised energy costs, high inflation, and el...

Prosecutors are looking at whether German far-right MEP Maximilian Krah received payments from Russian and Chinese sources. This comes just a day after Krah's aide was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. The AfD has said Krah will remain the candidate for upcoming European Union German public prosecutors have launched two preliminary investigations into the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)'s top European parliamentary candidate after media reports suggested that he had received payments from foreign powers. A spokesperson for the state prosecutor in the eastern German city of Dresden confirmed to the AFP news agency on Wednesday that initial probes have been opened against lawmaker Maximilian Krah over "alleged payments" from Russian and Chinese sources. What payments is Krah alleged to have received? The purpose of the preliminary proceedings, according to the spokesperson, is to establish "whether or not an initial suspicion of illegal...

  There's a clear correlation between the pay gap between men and women, and the birth of the first child, say statisticians. Women in Germany on average earned €20.84 ($22.7) per hour last year, compared with €25.3 for men Women in Germany earned 18% less on average than men in 2023, the country's Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) said on Thursday. On an adjusted basis, the gap was 6%, it added. The report showed that women, on average, earned €20.84 ($22.7) per hour last year, compared with €25.3 for men. Statisticians have been calculating the gender pay gap — which shows the difference in average gross earnings between men and women — since 2006 when it stood at 23%. The difference had steadily decreased until 2020, to 18%. It has remained unchanged since then. There are also regional differences within Germany: While the pay gap in western Germany stood at 19%, it was far lower in states that were formerly part of the communist East German...

The industrial action led to mass train cancelations across Germany, and only 20% of scheduled services operated on Thursday. Disruptions are expected to continue into the night, with services largely resuming on Friday. Germany's GDL train drivers union on Thursday ended a 20-hour strike. The strike had started at 10 p.m. local time (2100 UTC) and ended on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. The action led to mass train cancellations across the country, with only 20% of scheduled services operating on Thursday. Disruptions are expected to continue through Thursday night. A spokesperson for the Deutsche Bahn rail service said that services will be nearly completely restored on Friday. "We expect to offer an almost complete range of trains again tomorrow," Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Achim Stauß told the Reuters news agency. GDL head Claus Weselsky, did not rule out a new warning strike in comments to the German Press Agency (dpa).   What is the union demanding? The collectiv...

After a new report revealed the extent of gambling addiction in Germany, a government minister has called for measures including a ban on sports betting advertising on television before 11pm. Approximately 1.3 million adults in Germany suffer from a gambling disorder and a further 3.3 million show initial signs of gambling addiction, according to a new report presented by the country's Federal Drugs Commissioner Burkhard Blienert on Monday. According to "The Gambling Atlas," which draws on data compiled in 2021, 30% of German adults gamble. The figure represents a reduction on the 55% calculated in 2007, but the report nevertheless found that 7.7% of adults suffer financial, social or health problems associated with addition. "Gambling rarely makes participants happy," said Commissioner Blienert on Monday, presenting the report in Berlin. "Gambling is a disease," added Christina Rummel of the German Center for Addiction Issues (DHS). Young ...

  Building permit applications are down 27% compared to last year, Berlin will spend €18 billion by 2027 to kickstart the sector The German government has agreed on a package of measures to support a struggling construction and housing industry. Among the changes are relaxed environmental codes. Germany's government on Monday agreed to a 14-point plan to address a growing housing crisis in the country. It comes on the day of a crucial meeting of building industry and government leaders, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the face of a depressed construction and housing industry. "More affordable housing must be built in Germany. That means we must greatly expand our activities in the building sector," said Scholz in Berlin after his crisis meeting with representatives from the German construction industry.  What is in the government's plan to tackle the housing crisis? Scholz, who spoke alongside Housing Minister Klara Geywitz, said his administration will...

  Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (53, SPD) New allegations in the secret service affair surrounding Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (53, SPD). Now it comes out: Long before Faeser fired her then cyber defense chief Arne Schönbohm (54), there were contacts with ZDF comedian Jan Böhmermann. He then promptly made the accusations (alleged contacts with Russian secret services), which have now been proven false, the subject of his show “ZDF Magazin Royale”. Explosive: TODAY, a state secretary in the Interior Committee confirmed that her colleague, State Secretary Juliane Seifert, had contact with Böhmermann several times (telephone or video conversations). At least on April 6th and May 23rd - six months before the broadcast in which Böhmermann publicly branded Schönbohm as a friend of the Russians. It is said to have been about “hate on the internet”. Why did the high-ranking Faeser employee call the ZDF satirist? Schönbohm's lawyer Christian Winterhoff has a theory: ...

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (42, Green Party) is herself the mother of two daughters It is a tragedy that happened 14 years before she was born - and yet still affects Germany's foreign minister to this day. In the “Bunten” newspaper, Annalena Baerbock (42, Green Party) spoke about the tragic accidental death of her then 12-year-old aunt Erika, daughter of her beloved grandmother Alma Choroba (1926-2015). The drama that shook the family took place twelve days before Christmas near Hanover in 1966. Little Erika goes into town alone and wants to buy a set square. To protect herself from the weather, she pulls an umbrella close to her face. Erika misses a tram and is run over - accidental death! Alma goes to the child therapist with sister Sylvia, Baerbock's future mother. They talk about their sister's accident and deal with Erika's death as best they can. Baerbock's grandfather didn't find this strength. He fell apart over the loss of his little daughter a...

Does Germany now have to be permanently supplied with electricity from abroad after the nuclear power plant shutdown? "Every year there are phases in which we buy electricity from other countries," answered Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (65, SPD) on Thursday in the Erfurt Citizens' Dialogue when asked why Germany was replacing nuclear power with imported electricity. It sounded as if nothing had changed as a result of the shutdown of the nuclear power plant compared to previous years. But the opposite is the case: Germany imports more electricity than ever before! According to the Federal Network Agency, it was 5783.4 gigawatt hours in July – an all-time record. Germany has NEVER bought so much electricity from abroad, Chancellor! And that has its price: 469 million euros is the export balance that Germany had to pay in electricity trading with its EU neighbors in July (cause: more imports than exports). Germany paid 340 million euros in July The export price...

Katharina Schulze and Cem Özdemir were badly received in Chieming Chieming – appearances in the marquee are usually a nice thing for politicians. This time that was not the case at all! Bavaria's Green parliamentary group leader, Katharina Schulze, and the Green Federal Minister of Agriculture, Cem Özdemir, were badly received during an election campaign appearance in Chieming (Traunstein district) on Tuesday (August 1). According to "Bayerischer Rundfunk", the tent was filled with 2,500 spectators - but many were not Green fans at all. On the contrary! Özdemir's speech was lost in protests. To be heard again and again in the audience: boos, whistles and “Get lost” choruses. For security reasons, police officers even formed a police line between the podium and the audience. According to BR, Özdemir tried in vain to calm the situation. "You don't have to agree with us," he called into the microphone. "That's the beauty of Germany, tha...

It's been official since Monday: Germany's stagnation is below average European economic growth. Ironically, the largest economy in the euro area pulls the overall balance down. It can't stay that way. Employer President Rainer Dulger has found an apt picture of the state of the German economy . One can imagine the economy like Gulliver tied up with many thin threads - a strong giant tied up with many bureaucratic obstacles. Every single thread cannot harm the giant. All in all, however, they make him unable to move. It is not only the bureaucratic obstacles that ensure that Germany is currently being passed to the bottom of the table in Europe. All other problems are well known: The German economy also lacks a reliable infrastructure - both for transport and for the digital world. A boost and new economic growth also require affordable energy prices, more skilled workers from Germany and abroad, and planning security. These findings are not new. Unfortunately,...