Parties vying for power in Germany's February 23 election have outlined diverging financial policies that could affect banking, taxation and cryptocurrency regulation. The conservative CDU/CSU alliance, leading in the polls, aims to strengthen Germany's position as a financial hub, favouring tax incentives for start-ups and venture capital. Plans also include preserving the three-pillar banking system and increasing tax-free allowances while opposing a wealth tax.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), running second, proposes the most radical changes, calling for Germany to exit the euro and return to the Deutsche mark backed by gold. Advocating deregulation of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading, the party also opposes a digital euro and supports abolishing both the inheritance tax and wealth tax. Mainstream parties refuse to work with AfD, making its proposals unlikely to become policy.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD), currently trailing, pledge to tax the super rich and introduce a financial transaction tax. Plans also include reinstating the wealth tax and adjusting inheritance tax to increase contributions from multi-million and billion-euro estates. The Greens align with SPD on higher taxation for the wealthy and propose stricter cryptocurrency oversight, enhanced financial transparency and stronger sustainability regulations.

Polls indicate a potential shift in Germany's financial landscape, with taxation, cryptocurrency policy and the country's role in European finance among key issues shaping the election.