Too much bureaucracy and over-regulation: Many family business owners criticize politics in a survey. One point in particular is a thorn in their side.
According to a survey, the competitiveness of Germany as a business location has deteriorated in the past two years for more than two thirds of family businesses. In a survey by the Family Business Association, 69 percent provided corresponding information.
Entrepreneurs see bureaucratic costs and over-regulation as the biggest obstacles to investment (63 percent). This is followed by “unpredictable financial and economic policy” (50 percent). When asked about possible improvements in competitiveness, 65 percent cited reductions in bureaucracy and reporting requirements, 37 percent cited fewer tax burdens and 34 percent cited lower non-wage labor costs.
This emerges from a survey of 838 entrepreneurs from April 11th to 21st, as the Family Business Association told the dpa. On the occasion of its 75th anniversary, the association wanted to welcome Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden today.
Disappointment over “promises of relief not kept”
Association President Marie-Christine Ostermann criticized: “Two and a half years of the traffic light government have left their mark on economic policy. Entrepreneurs in the country are finding it difficult to keep up with international competition and are therefore increasingly deciding against investments in expansion, especially domestically.”
Disappointment about “unfulfilled promises of relief” is growing rapidly among entrepreneurs. Germany must campaign for the reduction of bureaucracy and against ever new regulations, especially in Brussels. With the supply chain law, the taxonomy, i.e. the EU-wide system for classifying sustainable economic activities, and the CSR EU directive for more transparency in ecological and social aspects of companies, “small and medium-sized businesses are being deprived of their breathing space”.
Additional “bureaucratic burdens” amounting to billions
The implementation of the CSR directive into German law alone means additional “bureaucratic burdens” of 1.4 billion euros annually for local companies: “That alone destroys half of the relief from the long-contested Growth Opportunities Act,” added Ostermann. The economy needs a relief boost “so that we can stimulate growth again and generate government revenue from it.”
According to its own information, the association represents the political interests of more than 180,000 family businesses. They employ a total of around 8 million people and record a total annual turnover of 1,700 billion euros.
Source: Stern
