NRW FDP wants to free the craft sector from bureaucracy

The North Rhine-Westphalia FDP parliamentary group is launching an initiative to reduce bureaucracy and tax burdens for craft businesses and is presenting a ten-point program to this end.

This article is part of the special feature on bureaucratic madness in the skilled trades.

The FDP parliamentary group in the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament has launched a new initiative to reduce the burden of bureaucracy and taxes on craft businesses. With this, they aim to promote entrepreneurship in the skilled trades and combat the shortage of skilled workers.

"The growing shortage of skilled workers and high bureaucratic burdens in North Rhine-Westphalia pose significant challenges for the numerous craft businesses , without overcoming which the competitiveness and future viability of the overall North Rhine-Westphalian economy, which is in the midst of transformation, is also at risk," the parliamentary group's motion states.

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Bureaucracy and staff shortages exacerbated each other and hampered entrepreneurial spirit in the skilled trades . "The skilled trades are North Rhine-Westphalia's economic all-rounder; they create jobs and secure our prosperity. However, increasing bureaucracy threatens to paralyze the skilled trades and discourage young entrepreneurs," explains Dietmar Brockes , economic policy spokesperson for the parliamentary group.

According to a recent survey in the Düsseldorf Chamber of Skilled Crafts district, less than half of newly qualified master craftsmen planned to start their own business . For more than half, the bureaucratic burden was the reason they were not considering self-employment. "Last year, the Chambers of Skilled Crafts in North Rhine-Westphalia reported a significant decline in new business start-ups – a trend that has been continuing for several years."

This is what the FDP demands:

1. A burden moratorium for the entire legislative period for crafts, small and medium-sized businesses and industry.
2. A state-specific bureaucracy reduction law is passed annually to automate bureaucracy reduction and address the bureaucracy relief for micro and small businesses.
3. Exploiting the potential for accelerating planning and approval procedures at the state level with an annual progress report.
4. The aim of the Sustainability Reporting Directive is to ensure that indirect reporting and documentation obligations are as cost-effective and bureaucratic as possible.
5. Gradual reduction of the real estate transfer tax to 3,5 percent to encourage and reduce the cost of acquiring commercial land and real estate for business takeovers and new businesses.
6. An unbureaucratic area-based model for property tax.
7. Reduction of the personal contribution to course and examination fees for masters to promote equal funding of academic and vocational education.
8. Consolidation and digitalization of master craftsman funding.
9. Introduction of a legal right to digital administrative services and the once-only principle as of January 1, 2025.
10. The introduction of a compulsory internship in a training occupation in secondary school classes so that students can gain experience in a craft, skilled work or other training occupations.

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