A story in this morning's Financial Times indicates that the German Chancellor hopes so.
Gerrman Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, under pressure to reverse a rise in unemployment to post-war highs, proposed on Thursday a cut in corporate taxes as part of a package of measures to kick-start a shaky economy.
With polls showing support for his Social Democrats on the decline ahead of a key state election in May, Schroeder also urged the widening of a loan programme for small businesses, investments in transport and reform of Germany’s cumbersome federal structure...
At the heart of the new measures unveiled on Thursday are moves to ease the burden on German companies, which currently pay the highest taxes in Europe.
Schroeder proposed a cut in the base corporate tax rate to 19 percent from 25 percent -- a move advocated by the conservative opposition but resisted by Schroeder’s own Finance Minister Hans Eichel.
The German government is apparently not counting on a weakening of the deficit caps under the euro area's Growth and Stability Pact.
The chancellor made clear, however, that such a tax cut would be financed by the closing of tax loopholes and be neutral for the budget.
Germany’s budget deficit has violated European Union limits for three consecutive years and the government can ill afford new programmes which weigh on its finances.
A development worth watching.
UPDATE: JustOneMinute notices too.