High prices: Energy crisis: SMEs want protective shields for companies

In view of the sharp rise in energy prices, medium-sized companies are demanding a protective shield for companies. Similar to the corona pandemic, a hardship fund is necessary for companies that have been hit particularly hard by the energy price and are no longer internationally competitive, said Markus Jerger, federal director of the Federal Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, of the German Press Agency in Berlin. “Energy prices are the number one concern for small and medium-sized companies.” The consequences of blatantly increasing energy prices are incalculable. “Even the strongest economy cannot withstand the doubling or tripling of energy prices.”

The companies assumed further high energy price increases. Many companies could not pass this on to customers. According to Jerger, the electricity tax must therefore be reduced to the minimum permissible in Europe. As with gas, VAT should also be reduced from 19 to 7 percent for electricity. In addition, it needs its own industrial electricity price tariff.

“Loss of confidence in the work of the coalition is great”

The mood in the middle class is “catastrophic”, said Jerger. “It is a combination of high commodity prices, stagnant logistics chains, a lack of raw materials, high energy prices and the increase in minimum wages that is causing problems for small and medium-sized businesses. Large companies have completely different opportunities to influence logistics chains by transporting large quantities “Small and medium-sized companies don’t have that. Some suffer from a lack of skilled workers and workers, others from raw materials, others from a lack of consumers.”

Jerger went on to say: “The loss of confidence in the work of the coalition is great. There is a lack of quick, good and logical measures by the government on how private households and companies can be helped substantially. There is no clear course for years to come. There are no relevant crisis summits, all of them essential groups.”

There shouldn’t be any more charges. Corporate taxes should be lowered. “If a company is not able to survive a period of crisis without permanently sailing around at the subsistence level, it shows that something went wrong before.” The economy needs a “breather”.

“Not enough immigrants from third countries”

Jerger went on to say there needs to be a boost in digitization and a lot less bureaucracy. “It takes far too long in Germany to register a place of residence, found a company, or re-register a company headquarters. You have to be able to do everything digitally. You can do it in Estonia. “And we, as the largest economic nation in Europe, can’t manage our system to modernize in such a way that less money seeps away in superfluous bureaucracy – also in the social systems – and instead more funds are available for future investments in research and development.”

In addition, the Skilled Immigration Act must be improved. “The idea was well intentioned, but due to the high level of bureaucracy and the difficulty in recognizing foreign qualifications, there is still a major problem that we are not getting enough immigrants from third countries. Our experts speak of a good 400,000 workers who would have to come every year we far away.”