Hyperdrive
Merkel Seals $145 Billion Stimulus to Lift Battered Economy
- Package includes cut to value-added tax, higher e-car rebates
- Highly anticipated spending plan tops expectations by 30%
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Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition agreed on a sweeping 130 billion-euro ($145 billion) stimulus package designed to spur short-term consumer spending and get businesses investing again.
The wide-ranging plan to lift Germany out of the crisis unleashed by the coronavirus exceeded the top end of expectations by 30%. Alongside an immediate jolt from a temporary reduction in value-added tax, coalition officials allocated money to build out 5G data networks, improve railways and double incentives for electric vehicles.