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The federal government will not continue generous aid in November and December for businesses affected by the pandemic shutdown, although the restrictions have now been extended until January 10. “At the beginning of the shutdown, we decided to provide generous, non-bureaucratic assistance to support sectors that are particularly affected by the Crown measures and which are based on sales,” said Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) . Süddeutsche Zeitung. “These regulations expire at the end of the year.” Instead of further offsetting sales, “Bridging Aid III, which expands and complements our existing support offerings and provides separate regulations for the self-employed,” applies as of January. Fixed costs no longer need to be reimbursed for lost sales.
This means that the change of course for state aid in the form of a crown recently requested in the Bundestag has been completed. Together with Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU), Scholz had surprisingly proposed at the end of October to offset up to 75 percent of sales from the same period last year if the companies were to remain closed due to Corona requirements. This affected restaurants, bars, fairs and sports facilities, but also freelancers. Employers who are affected indirectly, such as laundry operators or sound technicians, can also apply for this compensation if their sales have almost completely collapsed. The ministers had called the generous compensation “breakwater aid.” It should compensate the industries that have to bear the burden of the pandemic for the whole of society.
The compensation was criticized recently. Brussels had approved aid for November, but only with a stomach ache. Approval for December is still pending. Apart from Austria, no other country in Europe provides similar support; the EU Commission fears that it could lead to distortions of competition.
The Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag called the aid an “autumn birth” and called for it to be stopped. MEPs worry about the exceptionally high cost. For November alone, the federal government has to plan additional expenditures of 15 billion euros; in December, expenses will increase significantly because the Christmas business will also be offset. December is the highest selling month of the year for many industries.
Precisely for this reason, the fear of bankruptcy is growing in hotels and restaurants. For companies across the country, the weeks around the turn of the year are a crucial time, ahead of the weaker months of February and March. “Now we need clarity on how things will continue with the aid,” said Ingrid Hartges, director of the Dehoga industry association, SZ. The discussion about the above aid is sometimes “strange,” he said. “Nobody fills their pockets here.” Instead, many companies currently do not know how to pay the next lease. The discounts for the above “breakwater aid” are too low for that.
