Paul Kirchhof

Paul Kirchhof (born February 21, 1943 in Osnabrück) is a German jurist and tax law expert. He is also a professor of law, member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and, a former judge in the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany (Bundesverfassungsgericht), the highest court in Germany. Career Kirchhof obtained a doctorate at the early age of 25 having studied law in Freiburg and Munich. He then became director of the Institute for Tax Law (Institut für Steuerrecht) at the University of Münster. In 1987 he was finally appointed to the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany in Karlsruhe, where he remained a judge until 1999. He then assumed the position of professor at the University of Heidelberg School of Law. From January until March 2000, with former President Roman Herzog and former Bundesbank president Hans Tietmeyer, Kirchhof led an independent commission to investigate the CDU donations scandal. During the 2005 federal election campaign, Angela Merkel, leader of the CDU/CSU, announced that Kirchhof would serve as minister of finance if she formed a government. Kirchhof proposed a graduated income tax rate of 15, 20, and 25%. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder successfully mocked Kirchhof during the SPD's campaign, calling him "that professor from Heidelberg", implying Kirchhof an ivory-towered point of view.