Climate Foundation MV has to pay 10 million euros in gift tax!

Climate Foundation MV has to pay 10 million euros in gift tax!

The fight over the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Climate Protection Foundation is becoming increasingly widespread. Today the Federal Finance Court in Munich decided that the foundation must pay around 10 million euros in gift taxes on a generous 20 million euro donation from Nord Stream 2 AG. This decision marks a further setback for the Climate Protection Foundation, which failed in its appeal against a ruling by the Greifswald Finance Court and now subsequently considers the taxes already paid to be unlawful.

The foundation, founded at the beginning of 2021 by the state government under Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD), has caused discussions from the start. It was financed with 200,000 euros from the state and 20 million euros from Nord Stream. Its stated aim was to promote environmental projects, but there is suspicion that it was also intended as a buffer against American sanctions, particularly in connection with the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was never put into operation due to geopolitical developments since the Ukraine conflict

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Investigative committee begins work

The state parliament has set up an investigative committee to clarify the events surrounding the foundation. Its work will continue on November 8, 2024 with a public meeting in which, among others, Dr. Steffen Petersen, managing director of the foundation, will testify as a witness. Also Peter Cipra and Dr.-Ing. Lasse Petersen, other important players in the foundation, are interviewed. The talks will focus on contracts worth millions awarded between 2021 and 2022 and the aim of ensuring the construction of Nord Stream 2 despite the threat of US sanctions.

The foundation's critics accuse it of acting as a “fake foundation,” while supporters point to its alleged environmental goals. One expert questions the need to create the foundation at all to protect construction companies from international sanctions. The pressure on the state government, especially on Manuela Schwesig, is growing because former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, former chairman of the board of directors of Nord Stream 2, will soon appear as a witness.

Financial aspects and legal disputes

The challenges remain not only political, but also affect the foundation's finances. The gift taxes that have now been determined could have serious consequences for the use of funds that were originally planned for climate protection projects. Again NDR reported, the foundation's funds were not only intended to help promote environmental projects, but could also have served as a political instrument to protect the interests of Nord Stream 2 AG in particular.

The situation remains tense and there is no end in sight to the legal and political disputes. The citizens of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania can look forward to seeing how this story continues to unfold and whether the actors responsible will be held accountable.

The following applies to all those interested in the public meeting of the investigative committee: Registration is required in order to be able to attend on site. This could provide an opportunity to learn more about the tangled relationships between politics, foundations and the energy giants.

The coming months will be crucial for the Climate Protection Foundation and its supposed mission to promote sustainable projects - or whether it will go down in history as another example of misused political instruments.