VAT fears will not stall German growth

Strong business confidence, healthy demand for German products and an increasing share of income going to capital belie fears that Germany’s growth rate is under threat.

As we start 2007, value added tax rates in Germany have been increased by three percentage points to 19%. This compares with a single percentage point on the five previous occasions when the VAT rate was increased since the 1970s. The majority view, particularly in Germany, is that this could well hit the pace of the country’s economic growth, taking it down to below 1.5%.

I beg to differ. I reckon real GDP growth could accelerate to 3% this year.

Thanks for your interest in Euromoney!
To unlock this article: