(ANSA) - TRIESTE, 05 GEN - BERLIN, JANUARY 5 - "I'm expecting a decline in economic production not only in the fourth quarter of 2020 but also in the first quarter of 2021, so technically, this brings us back into recession," said the president of the Berlin-based economic institute Diw Marcel Fratzscher in an interview with Rnd.

"There is a huge risk of a wave of bankruptcies. The question is not if this will happen, but when it will occur and how strong it will be," continued the economist. The economic crisis could be overcome in the summer when the vaccine will be widely available. Still, even then, "there is a risk that the coronavirus will cause lasting damage to the economy because it could harm companies that have no buffer reserves to deal with the crisis. In Germany, it's inevitable to introduce a form of wealth tax sooner or later to reduce the debt incurred to overcome the crisis. It is not serious for some politicians to consider that we can easily overcome debt, just like it had happened after the financial crisis, simply by growing again. We will not be able to fix this gap without raising taxes," Fratscher said, alluding to Chancellor Merkel's response to the request to introduce a wealth tax. "Few countries in the world tax earned incomes as much and wealth as little as Germany does," he added. (ANSA).