The President of the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support of the German Armed Forces (BAAINBw) has advocated for tax relief for the defense industry. Annette Lehnigk-Emden told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” newspaper, in an interview to be published Friday, that a reduced value-added tax (VAT) on defense goods could be considered.
She explained that such a measure would allow the procurement of more equipment with the existing defense budget. “Currently, 19 percent of our defense spending goes to the finance ministry as VAT” she stated.
However, Lehnigk-Emden expressed opposition to a windfall profits tax. She argued that companies would simply factor such a tax into their pricing, ultimately leading to higher costs for the state. This concept of an extra tax has recently been proposed by the Left party faction in the Bremen city parliament and is also being considered by the European Parliament.