German tax row worsens ahead of EU summit

A festering dispute in Angela Merkels centre-right coalition worsened on Saturday when the chancellor publicly rejected a claim by one of her junior coalition partners that a tax cut proposal had been scrapped.

Merkel said in a speech in Wiesbaden on Saturday that the centre-right government was still aiming to cut taxes by 6 or 7 billion euros in 2013,ahead of the next federal election,even though the Christian Social Union allies oppose it.

Theres no way that the plan has been taken off the table, Merkel said,referring to the announcement to cut taxes in 2013.