Category: Finance
Scholz for “citizens’ money” instead of Hartz IV
The SPD’s candidate for chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has proposed replacing the basic security, also known as Hartz-IV, with a new type of citizen’s benefit. Conditions should no longer be based on “distrust” of the social welfare offices; some sanctions should be abolished for Hartz-IV beneficiaries…
Union parties criticize SPD plans for wealth tax
The Union parties have criticized the calls by Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz for tax increases, which the latter, SPD candidate for the office of Chancellor, wants to raise for high earners and the wealthy. “Behind Olaf Scholz’s Robin Hood rhetoric lies a program against…
EU Commission wants to see elimination of roaming charges extended
The EU Commission has spoken out in favor of cutting roaming charges in the EU for another ten years. Consumers in EU countries others than their own should use the same telephone quality and data speed for which they have concluded contracts, at no additional…
Scholz wants higher taxes for strong earners
The candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), wants to push through tax increases for high earners and wealthy people after the upcoming Bundestag election. The citizens want a fairer tax system, said Scholz. Those who have a lot of income should make a bigger contribution…
AfD to pay half a million in fines for illegal donations
The AfD has to pay more than half a million Euros in fines after having received donations of over 130,000 Euros from Switzerland. According to the law, political parties are prohibited from booking donations from abroad. The AfD replied that they did not understand the…
The poverty rate in Germany is at 15.9 percent
The poverty rate in Germany, with 13.2 million people concerned, is at 15.9 percent of the total population and has thus reached the highest level since German reunification. Measured by the number of inhabitants, there were highs around Bremerhaven and Bremen, at over 24.5 percent….
Better funding for electric vehicles
The Federal Ministry of Economics has launched an improved state subsidy for the purchase of electric cars in Germany. The directive stipulates that the amount of funding depends on the purchase price of the vehicle. This means that there is less funding for models from…
Bridging aid for companies started
The Federal Government has launched an aid program to help companies during the Corona crisis and to get the economy going. For three months up to and including August, it will be possible for companies and the self-employed to receive grants at their fixed costs….
Tax relief for disabled people
Disabled people will receive tax relief from the Federal Government. The tax lump sum for disabled people increases from 3700 Euros to 7400 Euros. It is credited to the tax return without any individual evidence. The relevant law is to be passed before the end…
Bridging aid for students
In order to ensure a sufficient income for students, the Federal Government will provide a bridging aid that is intended to help students living alone, who otherwise make about a third of their monthly income through jobs. Of the average monthly income of EUR 1060,…
Union confederation calls for basic child protection
The German Federation of Trade Unions has called for a unified basic child protection. So far, there are separate financial posts: child benefit, tax allowances, surcharges and Hartz IV benefits. These should be replaced and converted into one payment, which consists of a basic amount…
Bund takes share in CureVac
The federal government takes a share in CureVac in order to promote the development of a vaccine against the Coronavirus. As Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier announced, the KfW development bank is taking over around 23 percent of the shares in the biotech company…
Klöckner for more reasonable prices for meat products
Federal Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner (CDU) has strongly advocated that those responsible in the meat industry should remedy possible maladministration in production. After an industry meeting in Düsseldorf with animal owners, meat processing companies, the meat trade, animal and consumer protection groups, Klöckner said…
Covid-19: donor conference successful
The international donor conference for vaccines and treatments against the Coronavirus has been successful. There were pledges of aid of 6.15 billion Euros of aid, which will be given out as loans and guarantees. 383 million Euros stem from Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel said in…
Bayer reaches settlement over Glyphosate
The pharmaceutical company Bayer has reached a settlement in the legal dispute over Glyphosate, a weed killer. Bayer is committed to paying up to 10.9 billion USD to settle ongoing cases, and future cases, should these occur. The agreement brings about the resolution of three-quarters…
Free Corona tests in Bavaria
In the Free State of Bavaria, it will be possible for citizens to test for the Coronavirus free of charge, even without having symptoms. The tests should be voluntary. If a person decides to take a test, that person will not have to pay for…
Lufthansa wants to save money without layoffs
Following a meeting with trade unions, Lufthansa has identified 22,000 full-time surplus jobs. Even before the extraordinary general meeting on June 25, it should be agreed with the unions how part-time solutions can reduce personnel costs, in order to avoid layoffs during the Corona crisis….
Federal Government wants to secure places of job training
The Federal Government wants an aid program that aims to preserve apprenticeships. The aim is to prevent young people’s professional future from being jeopardized. This week, the Federal Cabinet is to provide advice for the first time on a key point paper “Securing training positions”….
No agreement yet on financial support for poorer countries
At a joint video conference, EU development ministers did not yet agree on financial support for the poorer countries, as a result of the Corona pandemic. The German development minister Müller (CSU) criticized that no additional support for the overly challenged states, such as several…
Labor costs rose in the first quarter due to the Corona crisis
The hourly labor costs incurred by employers in the first quarter of 2020 rose, after adjustment, by 4.3 percent in comparison with the same period in the previous year, the Federal Statistical Office announced. The hours worked can be lower, in the case of vacation…
Union parties, SPD: von der Leyen bears no responsibility in consultancy affair
The former Federal Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen (CDU), according to the CDU-CSU and SPD members of a Bundestag investigation committee, is not responsible for the advisory affair of her, then, ministry. However, responsibility does lie at the level of the State Secretaries….
Teachers’ association: additional educational package makes sense
The German Teachers’ Association has emphasized that it makes sense to put together an “additional education package,” allowing funding in the areas of renovation and modernization, with at least 20 billion Euros. The president of the association, Heinz-Peter Meidinger, complained that the education sector had…
Brinkhaus for a balanced budget
The parliamentary leader of the CDU and CSU in the Bundestag, Brinkhaus, wants to achieve a balanced federal budget again, “as soon as possible”. There should be no new debt in 2021 and 2022. One had to go back to the mode of budgeting which…
Lindner opts for income tax reform
The chairman of the FDP, Christian Lindner, has criticized the provisional reduction in VAT and called for the income tax to be reformed instead. The solidarity surcharge could be abolished at the same time, he indicated. The reduction in VAT leads to bureaucratic effort, Lindner…
2 million applications for Corona Emergency Aid
2 million self-employed and small businesses have applied to the Federal Government’s Corona emergency aid. According to a document by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Economy, the applications amount to a total volume of 13.7 billion Euros. According to the document,…