German coalition backtracks on taxes, welfare in budget talks, senior lawmakers say

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s ​governing coalition backtracked ​on some contentious tax and ‌welfare ​reforms on Wednesday, postponing a tax on sugary drinks and shelving a ‌plastic levy, according to a joint statement from three senior lawmakers. Merz’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc and its senior centre-left SPD partners are ‌this week resolving the last remaining issues for the 2027 ‌half-trillion-euro federal budget.

($1 = €0.9018)