Status: 09.11.2021 3:36 p.m.
The taxpayers’ association has denounced wasting money by German authorities. In numerous cases, the federal, state and local governments have dealt carelessly with citizens’ money, the association criticizes in its black book.
From the point of view of the Federal Taxpayers’ Association (BdSt), many state expenditures are useless or excessive. The association cites numerous examples of this in its current Black Book. BdSt President Reiner Holznagel called on those politically responsible to handle other people’s money just as carefully as if it were their own. Again and again tax money is “used too carelessly and wasted”.
Above all, consistent digital modernization of the state could save a lot of time and money every year, said Holznagel in Berlin. Slow digitization is also a form of tax waste, because digital methods such as e-mail instead of letters are often cheaper.
Bridges that nobody needs
The examples of money wasted include a pedestrian bridge in the Sauerland that was built right next to an existing bridge and a model test with bicycle protection strips that were marked for 261,000 euros on country roads in two districts of Lower Saxony. The districts and the accompanying steering group rated the experiences with it positively. However, the Federal Ministry of Transport decided not to pursue the project any further and, in agreement with the state authorities, ordered the removal of the protective strips for 763,000 euros.
A bridge that was built in Castrop-Rauxel in North Rhine-Westphalia in 1980 for 950,000 Deutschmarks at the time is older. This was done as a precaution because a bypass was planned there. However, this has not been built to this day – only the bridge is still without any use value in the landscape, criticized the taxpayers’ association.
In Bremen, for around 30,000 euros, pictures of the famous town musicians were painted on the floor as signposts. However, the color did not last long, so the pictures soon disappeared – but so did the money.
Expensive mixed financing
The taxpayers’ association is also scrutinizing so-called mixed financing. In Burgtiefe on the island of Fehmarn, for example, the harbor promenade was redesigned for 12.8 million euros. Of this, a good one million euros plus operating and maintenance costs were accounted for by an observation tower with an elevator, which, according to the taxpayers’ association, was actually not required for the project. For the municipality, however, the tower was very attractive because it enabled 70 percent state funding for the entire project.
Millions of euros for certificates and the Luca app
In connection with the Corona crisis, the introduction of digital vaccination certificates has been criticized. Since these were not yet available when the vaccinations began, expensive and forgery-prone double structures should have been created. At the same time, several federal states had made payments worth millions for the Luca app, the networking of which with the health authorities then sometimes did not work or was hardly used.
The other projects complained about include a toilet facility in Lower Saxony for 335,000 euros, the experimental expansion of a section of Berlin’s Friedrichstrasse into a promenade, questionable property deals, cost explosions in construction projects of different sizes or a cemetery barrier for 400,000 euros.