In Germany, where orchestras are largely financed by public dollars, many orchestras are reeling from unprecedented budget cuts imposed by their host cities. “Thousands of towns and cities across Germany have been slashing discretionary spending as tax revenues have shrunk. Many are facing their worst financial crisis in 50 years. Relief could be at hand, however, in the shape of a tax reform package unveiled by Germany’s ruling coalition yesterday… The core of the reform is a recasting of the Gewerbesteuer, a tax on corporate profit set and levied by Germany’s 13,800 municipalities, and which, in most cases, constitutes their largest source of revenues.”