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Downtown Hamburg
Photo: Georg Wendt / dpa
Specifically, it is about the possibility of special depreciation for "necessary modernization and repair measures" in the city centers, according to a paper from the HDE.
The aim was to »strengthen the self-healing powers of inner cities and encourage additional private investments«.
Owners of real estate in central locations should be able to deduct up to 100 percent of their renovation and construction costs from tax over the next five years.
As a side effect, modernizations would be "supported in the area of climate protection and energy efficiency". The shutdowns in the pandemic have exacerbated the situation in many city centers, according to the HDE. Further demands of the association are a “digitization fund” for the trade, an “special program inner city development” endowed with at least 500 million euros annually and a “federal institute inner city”, which is supposed to coordinate all funding around the city centers. The incumbent federal government has already initiated some of this or at least debated it in view of the increasing vacancy rates and the severe crisis in inner-city retail. Tens of thousands of stores closed in the pandemic, large chains such as Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof processed dozens of branches.Above all, the inner-city trade, which is dominated by medium-sized companies, is so emaciated as a result of the crisis that it cannot withstand "the enormous pressure to adapt", warns the trade association. If something doesn't happen soon, says Managing Director Stefan Genth, then it will be "too late for many city centers".
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