In Germany income from financial capital received by private persons is taxed at a reduced final withholding tax of about 25 percent whereas income from real estate property or business income is usually taxed at significantly higher rates up to 47 percent. Furthermore, there are special tax rules concerning returns from assurances and private pension plans. This article provides an overview of the current taxation of capital income in Germany by calculating costs of capital for the most common investment opportunities. While private pension plans and other assurances are considerably favoured by the tax system, equity‐financed business investment is heavily discriminated against. The conclusions for real‐estate taxation are ambiguous. This chaotic situation can be traced back to the coexistence of principally incompatible blueprints for capital income taxation.