No deal on tax among German coalition parties

BERLIN - 20 November 2017: Germany's would-be coalition partners have not agreed to abolish a tax imposed after reunification to help poorer eastern states, a conservative politician told Reuters on Sunday, retracting his previous remarks that a deal on the issue had been reached.

Hans Michelbach, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc, said earlier that an agreement had been reached with the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) to abolish the "solidarity tax" by 2021.

The FDP had made abolishing the tax, which was due to expire in 2019, an election promise.