Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Corona aid does not flow
Entrepreneurs demand more than "consolation summit"
Companies that have been closed for months are in some cases facing the end because the promised state aid is only flowing slowly. Federal Minister of Economics Altmaier speaks about this with representatives of the association at a "summit". A host from Cologne clearly states what to expect.
In normal times, Alexander Manek now makes around 15 percent of his annual turnover in the few days of the street carnival. This year, however, his three restaurants in Cologne are closed. For weeks he has been on the phone "daily with my new best friend, the tax advisor," says Manek ntv. With the help of the tax advisor, Manek, like tens of thousands of other companies, applied for November aid and then December aid. But so far "not a cent" has arrived. He is still keeping his head above water with a "high six-figure amount" from a bank. "But it will be tight," says Manek. Without income, he can only bridge the time until the aid is paid out for a short time with the loan. He still has "one month, at most two".
Many companies fare like Manek. Especially in gastronomy, which had to close in November. "In the crisis, the money only helps if it arrives quickly and not after four months or later," says Ingrid Hartges, General Manager of the Hotel and Restaurant Association, on ARD. It was "completely unsatisfactory" that more than a third of their companies still had not received the aid promised in October and that larger employers could not even apply. "Nobody understands that. I think we urgently need faster processes here too," said Hartges.
Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier is currently facing criticism from business at a meeting with more than 40 association representatives. He had "full understanding" of the problems in the companies affected by the lockdown. It was a "very difficult time" for them, said Altmaier. The conference had to be more than a "consolation summit", said the managing director of the German Trade Association, Stefan Genth. He expects real perspectives and effective aid packages from Altmaier. Concrete resolutions from this "economic summit" are not expected.
With the aid for November and December, six billion euros have now been transferred in advance payments and regular payments. The federal government originally provided 15 billion euros for November aid alone. The slow payout is not the only problem with the promised state aid for the lockdown. The requirements for the now seven different aid programs exclude many of those affected. The self-employed do not qualify for a lot of help, just like large companies with a turnover of more than 750 million euros.
Above all, host Alexander Manek has one expectation from the Minister of Economic Affairs. "See that you get your business under control," he says. His tax advisor does not even have a contact person for processing the aid application and emails are simply not answered. "It can't be that you promise something in November and haven't arrived by mid-February."
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