Federal Council calls for bureaucracy reduction for small and medium-sized businesses

The Federal Council has taken a position on the Bureaucracy Reduction Act IV and is proposing further measures to specifically ease the burden on small and medium-sized businesses. The skilled trades sector recognizes "important impetus" but calls for "more political courage" to reduce bureaucracy.

This article is part of the special topic Bureaucratic madness in the craft industry

"The Federal Republic is falling behind in international competition further and further backThe main reason for this is the countless bureaucratic hurdles, the companies almost unmanageable demands place." The Federal Council makes its positioning the Bureaucracy Reduction Act VI (BEG IV) clearly shows that the bureaucratic burden is jeopardizing the existence of many businesses and threatens to slow down the economy as a whole. However, too little has been done so far to provide real relief for the economy.

The measures in the draft law are a step in the right direction, but they do not meet the demands in this area far back"Germany will at best be on par with other nations that are years, if not decades, ahead in this respect," said the Bundesrat. "The draft law merely singles out individual, sometimes relatively straightforward, relevant legal areas and minimally deregulatedThe necessary and hoped-for fundamental change remains out."

Think bigger about deregulation

More is needed to get the German economy back on track. Deregulation, administrative simplification and administrative acceleration must larger and more comprehensive "Retention periods must be shortened for all accounting documents and not just in commercial and tax law – and drasticallyGermany needs a significant reduction existing documentation, proof and supervisory obligations in all areas and no new editions."

Threshold values ​​for company sizes in labor and social law should simplified and harmonized willto finally help small and medium-sized businesses to provide lasting relief. Small and medium-sized businesses in particular suffered from the continuously increasing bureaucratic requirements. Despite the clear commitment to significantly reducing bureaucracy, the Federal Council is supporting the draft law of the Federal government to BEG IV for the most part unchanged and also sees the craft-related measures no major changes .

Show more political courage

The Federal Council is too hesitant on his part on the topic of reducing bureaucracy. Holger Schwannecke, Secretary General of the Central Association of German CraftsThe German Federal Office for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and the Federal Office for the Environment (ZDH) would also have wished for "more political courage" from him. "Instead of supporting the federal government's proposal to shorten the retention periods from ten to just eight years, the states would have done well to follow the Economic Committee's recommendation and approve a reduction from ten to six years. This would have noticeably relieved the burden on craft businesses."

However, the resolution of the Federal Council is encouraging specifically to reduce bureaucracy for small and medium-sized businesses. Schwannecke: "The proposed abolition of the storage of annual financial statements in paper form or the automated reporting of sickness notifications to employers by health insurance funds are just some of the right measures for a effective relief for the craft industry. The Bundestag is called upon to take up the proposals of the Federal Council and, in the course of the Bureaucracy Relief Act IV implement."

Application from Schleswig-Holstein

The motion for the resolution came from Schleswig-Holstein. From the point of view of the ZDH, "important impulses to relieve the burden on craft businesses". This applies in particular to the proposal to Procedure for electronic certificate of incapacity for work Furthermore, the Federal Council recommends, as suggested by the trade, that health insurance companies should consider issuing the certificate automated to the respective employers. In addition, the Council calls for Abolition of paper form requirements for commercial and tax annual financial statements.

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