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Jens Büttner / dpa
Employees on short-time work could face additional tax claims, even though the short-time work allowance itself is tax-free.
As the Federal Government announced in response to a request from the Left Party in the Bundestag, the tax authorities will collect 1.6 billion euros for the 2020 tax year through the so-called progression proviso for short-time work benefits.
This regulation means that the short-time work allowance increases the tax rate for the regular wages and other income of the employees.
Short-time work should also be the focus of a joint appearance on Friday by Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) and the Chairman of the Federal Employment Agency, Detlef Scheele.
Both want to take stock of the labor market after a year of pandemic.
According to Scheele, short-time working secures employment on a large scale and prevents unemployment.
Between February 1 and February 24, the Federal Agency received short-time work notifications for 500,000 people.
In December, 2.39 million people were paid short-time work benefits.
The peak was reached in April last year with almost six million people.
Last year, it had been discussed for months whether the so-called progression proviso for short-time work benefits should be suspended for 2020.
That this did not happen was justified in the coalition with the justice to other workers.
The Federal Ministry of Finance points out that drawing short-time allowance does not automatically lead to additional tax payments.
That depends, for example, on the tax class, the wage tax deductions before the corona pandemic or any other income.
"If almost exclusively tax-free short-time work benefits subject to progression are received, there is no tax to be assessed."
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beb / dpa