German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday ruled out tax increases to help deal with the biggest influx of refugees since World War II.
"We can be glad that our economy has been well managed for years and that our economic situation is currently good," Merkel said in an advance preview of an interview due to be published in German daily Bild on Monday.
Asked concretely whether she could give her word that there would be no tax increases in connection with the refugee crisis, Merkel replied: "Yes, definitely."
On Saturday, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported the German government and European Commision were mulling a solidarity tax to help cover the costs of stemming a record-breaking influx of asylum seekers. German and EU officials denied the report.