BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – The SPD parliamentary group has asked the Union to correct its request for a committee of inquiry into the role of Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the tax scandal involving the Hamburg Warburg Bank. The majority of the experts interviewed by the Bundestag considered the current application to be at least partially unconstitutional, said SPD right-wing politician Johannes Fechner on Friday. “We are not opposed to a committee of inquiry, but we are opposed to an unconstitutional investigation,” he said.
According to the will of the CDU and CSU, the Bundestag should investigate whether there was political influence in the tax affair when Scholz was mayor of Hamburg. The Warburg Bank was involved in the “Cum-Ex” scandal and had the state reimburse it for taxes that it had never paid before. After talks between Scholz and a banker, the Hamburg tax authorities initially refrained from recovering millions. According to a court ruling, the bank later paid all outstanding amounts. Scholz categorically rules out political influence.
In its application, the Union had asked questions partly about the actions of the Hamburg administration, partly about the supervision of the federal government and partly about the actions of Scholz himself. According to several experts, however, the Bundestag is not responsible for the processes in the Hamburg administration.
“We offer that we agree with the Union on a constitutional proposal that is clearly focused on federal reference,” said Fechner. Alternatively, the Union could also write a completely new application for a committee that only examines federal concerns./tam/DP/jha