According to a survey, Germany's competitiveness as a business location has deteriorated in the last two years for more than two-thirds of family businesses. In a Family Business Association survey, 69 percent provided the corresponding information.
Entrepreneurs see bureaucratic costs and excess regulation as the biggest obstacles to investment (63 percent). This is followed by “unpredictable financial and economic policy” (50 percent). When asked about potential 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 is clear from a survey carried out between April 11 and 21 among 838 businessmen, as reported to dpa by the Association of Family Businesses. On the occasion of its 75th anniversary, the association wanted to welcome Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) today at the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden.
Disappointment over “non-compliance with aid promises”
The president of the association, Marie-Christine Ostermann, criticized: “Two and a half years of traffic light government have left their mark on economic policy. Entrepreneurs in the country find it difficult to keep up with international competition and therefore increasingly decide not to invest in domestic expansion.”
Disappointment over “broken aid promises” is growing rapidly among business owners. 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 system for classifying sustainable economic activities, and the EU directive on CSR for greater transparency in the ecological and social aspects of companies, ” small and medium-sized businesses are running out of breath.” 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 a year for local companies: “This alone destroys half of the relief from the long-disputed Growth Opportunities Act.” Ostermann added. The economy needs a relief boost “so we can once again stimulate growth and generate government revenue.”
According to its own data, the association represents the political interests of more than 180,000 family businesses. In total they employ around 8 million people and have a total annual turnover of 1.7 billion euros.