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Agency Report
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that his party, the Social Democrats (SPD), plans to offer investment grants of €12 billion to €18 billion ($12.4 billion-$18.6 billion) for businesses if it wins the upcoming election.
The party executive fleshed out plans for a so-called “Made in Germany” bonus at a closed-door meeting in Berlin.
According to the plans, the state would cover 10% of the costs of companies’ investments in machinery and vehicles, which the party calculates could increase Germany’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.17% in the first year alone.
“If we want to maintain our ability to perform in the future, then we have to set the right course now,” Scholz said on the sidelines of the meeting.
The Made in Germany bonus would be more targeted than the across-the-board tax cuts planned by the conservative opposition and would help companies quickly and without additional bureaucracy, he added.
The closed-door meeting marks the beginning of the main phase of the SPD’s election campaign, ahead of the vote on February 23.
At a party conference in Berlin on January 11, the SPD plans to officially nominate Scholz as its top candidate and adopt its election manifesto, which is to include the Made in Germany bonus.
