Status: 02/07/2021 01:58 a.m.
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Many branches of the economy are being supported by the state with billions during the Corona crisis. But there are also companies that benefit greatly from the pandemic. Should they now be asked to pay more?
By Ulrich Meerkamm,
ARD capital studio
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Many companies and traders are fighting for their existence in times of the pandemic. Others are doing the business of their lives. According to initial estimates, some companies are not only recording sales increases of more than 100 percent in online trading. The question is increasingly whether and how the pandemic profiteers should share in the costs of the crisis.
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Ulrich Meerkamm
ARD capital studio
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The rent tax, the new solidarity surcharge?
A look back at history: In 1923 the German government had a problem. The only way out of hyperinflation is the radical step of currency reform. The gold reserves for a new start are missing. So the decision is made to encumber the owners of land and commercial real estate with a forced mortgage. That brings 3.2 billion marks, a very high sum at the time. The currency reform is saved.
Even if the situation today cannot be compared with 1923, the example is still a good blueprint, says Claus Michelsen from the German Institute for Economic Research. Even now, the landlords of commercial real estate were among the beneficiaries of the crisis. Many traders passed on a large part of their Corona aid directly as rent. Rental income therefore remained largely stable. Michelsen demands:
“This insurance, which the state has issued with it, should actually also be provided with a premium. And accordingly, it would be a logical consequence, in the aftermath of the crisis, to tax commercial rents accordingly.
This could be time-limited and of course offset against losses. This is roughly comparable to the solidarity surcharge. The state covers a temporary increased financial need for those who can afford it.
Special tax for grocery chains?
In addition to the manufacturers of medical products or online retailers, the large grocery chains also do above-average business. The industry giants Edeka and Rewe do not publish any current figures on request. But the experts are certain: Corona makes the tills ring in the supermarket. People hardly shop anywhere else, the restaurants are closed. Cooking takes place at home.
“We want to pamper ourselves a little because we don’t have any other entertainment options,” said Martin Fassnacht from the WHU Business School. “That means we’re not quite as price-sensitive as usual, which doesn’t benefit the discounters, but the big supermarket chains like Rewe and Edeka.”
So don’t they have to give something so that you can support the shops that remain closed due to Corona? The trade association waves it away. Those who make more profits also pay more taxes. In addition, the additional hygiene concepts cost a lot of money, argues Managing Director Stefan Genth:
Especially in the first lockdown in the spring of last year – you forget that so quickly – there were really very difficult situations with border closings. The supply of food was not always guaranteed without further ado, and we can see that the costs in the food supply chain are much higher today.
The association receives support from the CDU. Taxes are already comparatively high today. An extra tax is therefore not a good idea. The deputy chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Andreas Jung, points out: “We had less tax revenue last year than before the crisis, but we more than forecast. And that’s because there are companies that are doing well runs, and of course they also pay more taxes. ”
Will the really big tax reform be necessary?
An additional tax burden for crisis profiteers is not enough for one: According to Jan Korte, the parliamentary manager of the Left Party in the Bundestag, the gap between rich and poor in society widened even further during the crisis: “There are people on short-time work and the others earn themselves stupid and stupid. ” The number of billionaires and millionaires in Germany has continued to rise since the beginning of the pandemic. “And this is where politicians are called upon to finally create justice in these times with a major tax reform and a property levy,” said Korte.
His party will make this the crucial question in election year 2021. What constitutes a solidary society is not limited to the question: Who pays for the Corona crisis?
You can find out more on this topic today at 6:05 p.m. in the report from Berlin.
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