BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Who will receive the relief bonus of up to 1,000 euros announced by the government? This is the question currently being asked by many employees - and reactions from the business community suggest that not many will have cause for celebration. Companies may pay the "crisis bonus," but they are not required to do so. The Black-Red federal government is facing increasingly sharp criticism, while it simultaneously considers extending the bonus into 2027.
"We are seeing a wave of insolvencies, and many companies simply cannot afford this," Steffen Kampeter, Managing Director of the BDA employers' association, told the "Bild" newspaper. He criticized Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) for having "stoked expectations and dumped the fulfillment of those expectations onto others."
The Taxpayers' Association (Bund der Steuerzahler) dismissed the proposed tax-free relief bonus as unrealistic. "A truly appropriate relief solution would be an increase in the commuter allowance for everyone who has to use a car, bus, or train to get to work," Reiner Holznagel told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
Retail Association: Citizen Relief is Purely a State Responsibility
The coalition had announced that companies should be given the opportunity to pay out a tax- and duty-free bonus of up to 1,000 euros during the current year. As it stands, the payment is not intended to be mandatory. According to the SPD, a draft bill is expected to reach the Bundestag next week. The concept resembles the inflation compensation bonus introduced for a significantly longer period following the start of the Ukraine war in 2022.
The inflation compensation bonus was subsequently agreed upon in many collective bargaining negotiations. In sectors where collective agreements have just been reached, this is no longer possible. And in the retail sector, where negotiations are beginning these days, neither side is even seeking the payment of the bonus.
"Relieving the burden on citizens due to external factors is a purely state task and is simply being shifted onto companies," complained Stefan Genth, Managing Director of the German Retail Association (HDE). He noted that businesses are themselves affected by cost increases. The Verdi trade union emphasized that it would not accept one-off payments in collective bargaining as a substitute for genuine wage increases in pay scales.
According to Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, the federal government is examining an extension of the planned tax exemption for the bonus into 2027. During the legislative process, a proposal has emerged to extend the bonus to next year, the SPD leader said on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund's spring meeting in Washington. This is currently being discussed. "There will be an agreement on this."
Thyssenkrupp: Expectations Must Be Disappointed by Companies
Major corporations also expressed primarily cautious to critical reactions in a survey by the Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Some groups emphasized that it was too early to take a position, as the government had not yet made a final decision on the relief bonus.
The industrial group Thyssenkrupp clearly rejects the measure. "From a corporate perspective, it is not constructive to place additional lump-sum payments at the center of the energy price debate," a spokesperson said. This stokes expectations among employees that companies would have to disappoint due to additional cost pressures.
Drugstore Chain Has Already Committed to Relief Bonus
However, one commitment to pay has already been made by the Rossmann drugstore chain. It has already announced it will pay the relief bonus. As soon as the government's decision becomes legally binding, the company will pay a tax- and duty-free emergency aid of 500 euros "at the earliest possible date," Rossmann announced. Sales assistants would receive 250 euros.
Will Federal and State Governments Lead by Example?
From the perspective of the German Civil Service Federation (dbb), the relief bonus should also be available to public sector employees. However, the states see little chance of payment to civil servants, salaried employees, and pensioners. "Including civil servants and pension recipients, the 1,000-euro bonus for all 15 TdL member states would cost over 2.3 billion euros," Andreas Dressel (SPD), Chairman of the Collective Bargaining Association of German States (TdL) and Hamburg's Finance Senator, stated on Facebook.
A collective agreement for the public service of the states was only recently reached. Dressel wrote that the states had reached their limits with the February agreement. "The 1,000 euros for all state employees would now go significantly beyond that."
Johannes Winkel, head of the Junge Union, also sees no reason to pay the bonus to civil servants or those in the public sector. "Public sector employees have received a large salary increase. In my opinion, civil servants in Germany are also well-provided for," the CDU politician said on the "RTL/ntv" Frühstart program.
Greens Introduce Speed Limit Bill in Bundestag
In addition to the 1,000-euro bonus, other relief proposals are being discussed. Alongside an increase in the commuter allowance, a speed limit is being demanded. The Greens introduced a draft bill to the parliament for the introduction of a maximum speed of 130 kilometers per hour. "It (the speed limit) immediately reduces fuel consumption, costs the state nothing, saves money at the pump, and increases safety on our roads," said Green parliamentary group deputy Julia Verlinden in the Bundestag.
While citizens would feel a speed limit immediately, they would have to wait longer for the effects of a higher commuter allowance. Commuters can claim travel costs for their commute for tax purposes via their tax return - meaning only after the end of the year. Another catch: the relief only takes effect if total professional expenses exceed 1,230 euros per year. Many employees, however, remain below this threshold and therefore do not benefit from it./nif/DP/he
