German Chancellor Merkel: All Options Open for Economic Help
BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday she is leaving "all options open" to stimulate Germany's flagging economy, but repeated she still does not favor immediate tax changes. Speaking at a party convention in Stuttgart, Merkel — who is up for re-election next year — told delegates that "we know 2009 will be a year of bad news" on the economy.
"Germany will keep all options open to effectively combat the consequences of this crisis," she said. "And I say explicitly: All options."
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The German government has already put in place a financial sector rescue package worth up to euro500 billion ($636.4 billion) and a proposed stimulus package of tax breaks and spending measures of up to euro50 billion over the next two years to encourage investment.
Still, Merkel has rejected the idea of cutting Germany's value-added tax, even as other countries and the European Union favor them.
Her grand-coalition is to hold special talks on Jan. 5 to plan what additional economic help is possible, but she repeated the meeting will not be about "structural tax reform," she said.
Merkel also called for more international coordination on moves to stimulate economies, saying that the world today is "a global village."
"We need something like an economic United Nations," she said.
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