Growth Opportunities Act ends up in the mediation committee

The Bundesrat referred the Growth Opportunities Act to the Mediation Committee by a large majority in order to achieve a few key changes.

The Growth Opportunities Act contains many tax breaks, especially for companies, with which the federal government wants to boost the economy. While the federal states agree with the aim, the changes brought about by the law are too expensive for them. With the accusation that money was being distributed according to the watering can principle, the Bundesrat referred the law to the Mediation Committee at its meeting on November 24, 2023.

There, the federal states want to weaken some of the more expensive changes or negotiate them out of the law. At the top of the states' list is the reintroduction of declining balance depreciation, which is too generous for the states in its currently planned form. The Bundesrat had brought forward the discussion of the law to the November session so that a conciliation procedure could be completed this year if possible and the law could be passed before the end of the year as planned.