Germany won't raise taxes for refugee costs: German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman

By Rainer Buergin

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said Germany will shoulder rising refugee costs without resorting to tax increases, as Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said European Union coffers may lack the means.

"The fact remains that we want neither tax increases in Germany nor the introduction of an EU tax," Steffen Seibert said in an e-mailed statement.

Schaeuble told reporters in Lima on Friday that managing the flow of refugees to EU countries is a task for the bloc as a whole, in cooperation with Turkey, refugees' countries of origin and EU neighbors. Financing needs at EU level can't be met within the framework of the medium-term budget plan, and other sources of financing are needed, he said.

The EU has said it will mobilize up to 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for 2015-16 to help Turkey cope with Syrian and Iraqi refugees, part of an action plan to step up cooperation in support of refugees and migration management.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung earlier reported that the European Commission and the German government are in talks about a levy to help pay for refugee-related expenses. Schaeuble said in Lima he can neither confirm nor deny such plans, while noting that Germany has "fiscal space" to deal with additional costs.