Federal Government
Lindner calls the location debate overdue
Warns of loss of competition: Christian Lindner. photo
© Ann-Marie Utz/dpa
Federal Finance Minister Lindner sees Germany as no longer sufficiently “competitive” in international comparison. He calls for an improvement in the location conditions for companies.
Both Lindner and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) had spoken out in favor of improving the location conditions for companies in view of the economic downturn in Germany – but they have different ideas.
Lindner: “The location is no longer competitive”
“Germany is falling behind because there is no growth,” Lindner told the newspaper. “The location is no longer competitive. However, a debt policy does not make economic sense.” The federal government pays high interest rates on national debt.
“We would quickly strangle our budget. In fact, I don’t think it’s promising if politicians decide which industry, which technology and which company should have a future by granting subsidies there. We have to improve the location conditions for everyone. ” In the middle of the year, a group of experts will also present proposals for a corporate tax reform.
Habeck had brought a billion-dollar, debt-financed special fund into play to relieve the burden on companies. The FDP rejects this.
Chancellor refers to the planned Growth Opportunities Act
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) expressed reservations about the debate. On Monday in Berlin, Scholz referred to the already planned Growth Opportunities Act, which is intended to promote the German economy. This is a “very good project” for which a mediation process is currently underway between the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.
Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke is calling for improvements to the Growth Opportunities Act. On Deutschlandfunk, the SPD politician gave two reasons why the law has not yet made it through the Federal Council. One reason is that the states should pay the largest share of the money, which is understandable from the federal perspective given the financial situation. “But the states then at least expect to be asked beforehand what should happen in the Growth Opportunities Act,” said Woidke on Deutschlandfunk.
In addition, some planned measures are not even relevant for many countries. Woidke cited industrial research funding as an example. “And I would have liked, as with many other things, that if the states are supposed to pay, they would simply be involved at an early stage and we would talk together about what is sensible and what is not sensible. And the Growth Opportunities Act in its current form is not sensible.”