A final warning shot for defaulting entrepreneurs: 10,300 company bosses in the country are threatened with millions in repayments from October onwards if they have not yet submitted an invoice for the Corona emergency aid paid out to the economy four years ago. Of the 36,000 aid payments approved for companies at the time, the prescribed invoice was issued in 26,000 cases, but not in a good 10,000 cases, criticized Economics Minister Reinhard Meyer (SPD) on Friday. Despite several extended deadlines and requests, the companies have not yet complied with their invoice obligation. “The feedback was tough,” said Meyer.
Reclaims in the interests of justice
Now the state is increasing the pressure: In spring 2020, emergency aid of around 232 million euros was paid out to the economy in MV to compensate for impending liquidity gaps and to stabilize companies in the Corona crisis. Help was needed quickly, said Meyer. For many companies, the Corona aid had ensured their survival in times of crisis. But now accounts must be settled. Without a response from the affected companies by the end of September, all defaulting companies would be sent repayment notices from October and the aid money would be reclaimed “in full” plus interest, announced Meyer. The step was also in the spirit of justice towards all companies that had already honestly settled accounts and the taxpayers who had paid for the aid, he said.
1.6 billion euros in Corona aid for MV
With the Corona emergency aid launched in March 2020, the federal and state governments made one-off payments to businesses based on estimated income and expenditure after the outbreak of the pandemic. In addition, bridging aid was paid, which enabled companies to claim part of their fixed costs in the event of corona-related sales losses. A total of 1.6 billion euros in aid payments from various programs were made in MV at the time.
Billing is not rocket science
Now the bill is being demanded: A simple list of how the liquidity aid was used is needed, demanded Robert Fankhauser, head of the MV State Development Institute: “It’s not rocket science” and can be done quickly. “Doing nothing won’t help,” he urged the companies to settle the accounts. Companies that would have financial difficulties with the repayment could have their claims deferred. Most of the defaulting companies are small and sole proprietorships. It was clear to everyone from the outset that overpaid Corona aid would have to be repaid. However, many of those affected were of the mistaken opinion that this would allow them to keep all aid payments from the outset, said Meyer.
Aid payments reclaimed in 18,000 cases
A false assumption: audits have so far revealed repayments of 141 million euros in MV, of which 109 million euros have already been repaid. Without a response to the 10,000 outstanding invoices, repayments of around 88 million euros would be added. In total, around 18,000 repayment demands have been made to companies in MV, said Fankhauser. This means that around one in two companies have now had to repay Corona aid. 1,307 companies have appealed against the decision.
The Federal Ministry of Economics estimates that around five billion euros in Corona emergency aid was paid out too much nationwide. Of this, around 3.46 billion euros were repaid by around 550,000 companies and self-employed people, it recently said.
