Friday, October 23, 2009 BERLIN: A group of wealthy Germans has called for the resumption of wealth tax to help the country bounce back from an economic crisis. The petition has been signed by 44 people who want to convince the government of the newly re-elected Chancellor, Angela Merkel, to raise taxes. Peter Vollmer, a signatory to the group's online petition said he had inherited "a lot of money I do not need". Dieter Kelmkuhl, a 66-year-old retired doctor and signatory, said it was time for the wealthy to come to the aid of their country. He claimed that if the 2.2 million Germans who have personal fortunes of more than £450,000 paid a tax of five per cent this year and next, it would provide the State with €100 billion.
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