Why at least 20,000 euros makes sense for adults

Hamburg-Blankenese

Completely new ideas could develop if inheritance was not restricted to the already wealthy strata.

(Photo: dpa)

After the Christmas presents are all unwrapped, it’s time to start thinking about a really big present. What would it be like if every citizen of legal age received an asset amount of 20,000 or even 60,000 euros from the state? At leisure.

This proposal, discussed under the term basic heritage, is 200 years old and appears again and again in the political discussion in a slightly different guise.

It is rooted in liberalism, for which liberty and property are closely linked. If property is a condition of freedom, then it is a problem when half the population has little or no private wealth.

The approximately 18 trillion euros of private assets in Germany are distributed in such a way that, according to calculations by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), almost two thirds of them belong to the top ten percent of wealth owners, while the bottom 50 percent have to be content with 1.5 percent of the cake .

Top jobs of the day

Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.

As a result, half of the citizens not only lack protection in emergency situations, they are also missing out on important opportunities associated with wealth ownership. Be it the personal contribution to finance a property, the money for a better education or the capital for going into self-employment.

Broader accumulation of wealth has long been a political goal, but employee savings allowances, savings allowances or housing bonuses are too measly to change anything about the wealthlessness of the lower half of the population. A basic inheritance would distribute opportunities more fairly in society. And it would be a contribution to intergenerational justice.

Jens Beckert

Jens Beckert is Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.

(Photo: David Ausserhofer)

Because wealth would then also be available to young people who could use it to invest in their human capital or in business start-ups, which would benefit the economy. This is in contrast to conventional inheritances, which are not only distributed very unequally, but often only accrue to the heirs shortly before retirement.

The German Institute for Economic Research has calculated that a basic inheritance of 20,000 euros would cost 15 billion euros annually. This funding requirement could be met with revenue from an increase in property taxes. These are particularly low in Germany in an international comparison. In Germany, assets estimated at up to 400 billion euros are inherited or given away every year. 15 billion euros corresponds to four percent of this annual wealth transfer.

A basic inheritance would be a real step towards social reform. It would broaden opportunities for participation in society. It would challenge young people to use this gift responsibly. And it would extend property’s promise of freedom to society at large.

More: This is how the tax models of the richest families in Germany work.

source site-11