The majority of medium-sized family businesses in Germany will not pay the tax-free relief premium of up to €1000 to their employees. This emerges from a current survey by the Association of Family Businesses, which was made available to the Rheinische Post (Thursday edition).
"According to our current survey, 57 percent of entrepreneurs do not want to pay the premium, 31 percent only partially, and only 12 percent will pay it," said the association's president, Marie-Christine Ostermann, to the newspaper.
Many entrepreneurs simply cannot afford the premium after several years of recession, Ostermann explained. The federal government speaks of relief but passes the costs onto businesses. "And this during the longest economic crisis since World War II."
Regarding the reduction of high energy costs, Ostermann called for a completely technology-neutral policy that could also enable the construction of small nuclear power plants. "It cannot be that after 30 years, for example, the solar industry is still being subsidized," she said. "We expressly support Economics Minister Reiche in ending this subsidy addiction." The Association of Family Businesses is also in favor of ending the ban on nuclear power, Ostermann declared.
The Bundestag voted in April to allow companies to pay their employees a premium of €1000 tax and levy-free in light of the current energy crisis. This will be possible until June 30, 2027, extended from the original 2026 deadline
The background to this extended deadline, following the initial proposal, is criticism from many employers who do not see themselves able to pay the premium in the short term given the currently difficult economic situation. The measure still needs to be approved by the Bundesrat, which will vote on it on May 8.
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