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...but not anytime soon: A symbolic image for the biggest desk fun of the year
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Due to the ongoing burdens caused by the corona pandemic, the federal cabinet has launched further tax breaks for companies and citizens.
This should "contribute to stabilizing the economic recovery", said Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP).
One wants to reach "the broad middle of society".
With the draft for the fourth Corona Tax Assistance Act passed by the cabinet, contributions would also be made to “appreciate the special achievements of carers,” Lindner continued.
The finance minister emphasized that the tax exemption of a care bonus of 3,000 euros was “expressly” provided for in the law.
The next step is for the Bundestag to approve the bill.
In detail, it provides:
The
extension
of the existing regulation on the
home office flat rate
until December 31, 2022.
With the home office flat rate, five euros per day can be deducted if employees or the self-employed work at home.
The upper limit per year is 600 euros.
Employers should also be able to pay tax-free allowances of up to EUR
3,000 to employees in nursing professions
.
This maintenance bonus must be paid out by December 31, 2022.
It is not included in the basic security for jobseekers.
The
deadline for tax advisors to
submit tax returns
for 2020 will be extended by a further three months, the Ministry of Finance said.
“As a result, the return deadlines for 2021 and 2022 will also be extended,” explained Lindner’s ministry – also for taxpayers without a consultant.
In addition, subsidies for short
-time work benefits remain
tax-free for a further six months, i.e. until the end of June 2022.
The extended
offsetting of losses should also apply longer,
namely until the end of 2023. In this way, companies should continue to be able to better offset their corona-related losses against profits from previous years.
Operating losses in 2022 and 2023 can be carried back to the two immediately preceding years up to an amount of ten million euros and offset against profits of this amount.
Improved depreciation options for operational investments
are also to apply for 2022
.
This should motivate companies to invest now and not to postpone purchases.
The aim is to achieve "that, to a certain extent, we invest ourselves out of the recession caused by the pandemic," said Lindner.
Criticism of the federal government came from the ranks of the opposition.
The financial policy spokeswoman for the Union faction, Antje Tillmann, complained that the government draft should have come earlier and should have contained more extensive measures.
"Due to the strong inflation, we have to relieve citizens and companies quickly," she explained.
Criticism: Bonus not only for nurses
The responsible rapporteur for the Union faction, Fritz Güntzler, criticized that the tax-free payment of a Corona care bonus was not enough.
"Educators in emergency operations, employees in the health department who track contacts or tax consultants with Corona aid applications have surpassed themselves during the Corona crisis and deserve recognition from the federal government," he explained.
In addition, the home office flat rate should not only be extended by one year, but should be granted permanently.
The left-wing faction's financial policy spokesman, Christian Görke, called for relief for low earners and the middle class to be overdue in view of rising inflation.
"Of the 2.6 billion euros in relief, companies account for around 1.6 billion euros," he criticized.
mamk/AFP