Germany: Good news that final U.S. tax plan does not include excise tax

[December 20, 2017]  BERLIN (Reuters) - A German Economy Ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday it was a good sign that a proposed U.S. excise tax on certain imports, which critics described as clearly protectionist, had not been included in the final U.S. tax legislation.
 

"For us it's good news that it looks like the excise tax is not part (of the final U.S. tax legislation) anymore," Economy Ministry spokeswoman Tanja Alemany said during a regular government news conference in Berlin.

A Finance Ministry spokesman said the German government would analyse the final tax bill closely and look into possible spillover effects, which might result from slashed U.S. corporate tax, on German companies.

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives was on Wednesday expected to give final approval to a sweeping tax bill and send it to President Donald Trump to sign into law, sealing his first major legislative victory in office.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Michelle Martin)

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