New drastic tax cuts in Germany are likely to entice more Georgia companies to invest in Europe’s most competitive market, said Thomas Beck, president of the German American Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta.
“Georgia has not been one of the strongest states for investment in Germany, but that will probably change,” Mr. Beck told GlobalFax in a telephone interview last week.
Tax reforms passed July 14 in the German Bundestag include scaling down the corporate tax from 40% to 25%, lowering the ceiling on income taxes from 51% to 42% by 2005 and dropping capital gains taxes. Mr. Beck said the reforms were made to attract investment not only from large corporations, but also from medium-sized firms and individuals.
These reforms have been badly needed for the last 10-15 years, he said, to increase foreign investment and to create more entrepreneurs and jobs
“I expect a boom in foreign investment in Germany in the next few years,” he said, and added, “This is a big win for the German government.”
The former chancellor, conservative Helmut Kohl had tried unsuccessfully during his administration to pass similar tax reforms, said Mr. Beck. Current chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a member of the majority party in the Bundestag, the Social Democrats, managed to get three-quarters of the body to approve the measures.
According to a July 17 Wall Street Journal article, in 2005 Germany’s corporate tax rate will fall below that of France, Italy, Japan and the U.S., leaving Ireland, the Netherlands and England as the only European countries with lower tax rates.
Call the chamber at (404) 239-9494.