News of the day: conscription, Gautam Adani, property tax return

the three question marks today:

1. Even within the Bundeswehr, many would find conscription difficult - also because highly specialized personnel are needed there

After graduating from high school, I refused to serve in the Bundeswehr, which was still compulsory for all young men in Germany at the time, and did civilian service in a hospital.

I am glad that my sons are growing up in a country without compulsory military service.

Today in Germany there is a discussion about whether conscription should be reintroduced.

Apparently, the chairwoman of the defense committee, the FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, thinks this makes sense.

Would that really help our country and the Bundeswehr in these times of crisis?

My colleagues Henrik Bahlmann and Matthias Gebauer have clearly summarized the problems of mandatory conscription.

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A Leopard 2 A6 of Panzerbrigade 21 Lipperland: Once again the reintroduction of conscription is being discussed

Photo: Christoph Hardt / Panama Pictures / IMAGO

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, security and defense policy has been one of the key issues – also in Germany.

The Bundeswehr is in a partly desolate state.

»The old conscription failed because of the so-called military justice.

The Bundeswehr simply doesn't need as many people as would be drafted for conscription," the colleagues write.

“The question of who gets drafted and who doesn't would also come up if reintroduced.

Lawsuits against military justice already had a chance of success with the past conscription, that would not change if it were reintroduced.«

It is also difficult to reconcile the fact that the obligation to do military service has so far only applied to men.

For women conscripted to the Bundeswehr, however, barracks would have to be built or expanded, a question of time and money.

Headwind is also coming from the Bundeswehr itself. After the start of the Ukraine war, Inspector General Eberhard Zorn spoke out against conscription because the armed forces today primarily need “well-trained, and in some cases even highly specialized, personnel”.

Currently around 700,000 men and women in Germany reach the age of 18 each year and would therefore be required to do military service.

Only a fraction of them could be "moved in" and trained, which would again cause injustice, the colleagues write.

»In the last few years of conscription, the Bundeswehr was still able to accept and train 30,000 conscripts a year.

This number is currently estimated at just 10,000 a year.«

• Read the full story here: What's the deal with the new conscription debate? 

And here is more news and background information on the war in Ukraine:

• »We don't have any more time to bring my father home alive«:

  In November, the Ukrainian army recaptured Cherson from the Russian occupiers.

  But the mayor of the city has disappeared to this day.

  His son is desperately looking for him - and encounters resistance in Kyiv.

• The fear of an escalation in the air:

  even if the chancellor doesn't want to talk about it: the debate about fighter jet deliveries is in full swing - fueled by SPD leader Esken.

  What should Western planes be used for - and what could they do? 

• Find all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine here: The News Update

2. The corporate empire of the Indian Gautam Adani is being attacked by a US hedge fund – but despite billions in losses it is unlikely to go under.

When very rich people suddenly find themselves in financial difficulties, it often has dramatic qualities.

Sometimes you can even make plays out of the stumbling of wealthy people.

Elfriede Jelinek, for example, wrote a play entitled "The Businessman's Contracts," which said: "We invested in something that we thought was safe.

But we could have burned the money right away.«

I remembered Jelinek's play today because of a highly exciting story by my two colleagues, Tim Bartz and Claus Hecking.

They report on the attack by a US hedge fund on Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his corporate empire.

Adani's business plays a central role in India and its emerging economy.

The Hindenburg Research hedge fund is now attacking the Adani Group, a network of companies from all kinds of industries, with fierce allegations.

They range from market manipulation and a lack of transparency to overindebtedness and balance sheet fraud.

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Gautam Adani, Indian tycoon with wealth accumulation completed

Photo: Indranil Mukherjee / AFP

The Hindenburg people confronted Adani with a list of 88 questions, 62 of which the Indians allegedly have not answered concretely so far.

Since then, the billionaire has been poorer by tens of billions because the shares of many of his publicly traded companies have plummeted.

Overall, the value of the conglomerate was estimated at well over 200 billion US dollars, but the holding company Adani Enterprises, which mines coal and iron ore, has lost more than 16 percent in the past few days.

"The dispute between the unequal adversaries Adani and Hindenburg is spectacular in many respects," the colleagues write, "primarily because of Adani's paramount importance for India's rise to become the world's fifth-largest economy."

In view of its importance for the country, it is unlikely that Adani's empire will go under in the wake of the Hindenburg allegations.

The conglomerate is simply too big to fail for India and its nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is close to Gautam Adani.

The American attack is by no means altruistic.

The fund analyzes companies that it believes are overvalued.

Hindenburg borrows shares from an analyzed company, sells them on the stock exchange and, after a price drop, buys them again cheaper in order to return them to the lender;

the company then collects the difference as profit.

“Hedge funds are despised by many as vultures that just make a lot of noise and make money when companies struggle and their stocks plummet,” says my colleague Tim Bartz.

It does happen occasionally, but overall this view is enormously under-complex.

"In many cases, short sellers like Hindenburg Research represent a corrective. With a great deal of expertise, they examine poorly managed corporations for weak points where others turn a blind eye or allow themselves to be deceived - ask Wirecard!"

• Read the full story here: Attack on India's superstar 

3. Today is the deadline for most Germans to submit their property tax return – but those who are only a little late will probably not face a penalty

Today, the state of Bavaria single-handedly extended the deadline for filing a tax return, which is currently on the nerves of many Germans.

It's about the property tax return, which actually has to be delivered by January 31st.

The Bavarian Minister of Finance Albert Füracker, a CSU man, is now giving the home and property owners in his state three months longer, until the end of April.

Haven't you gotten your property tax return, which was originally due at the end of October 2022 before the deadline was extended nationwide to today's January 31st?

A third of those Germans who are obliged to pay the fee have apparently not made it so far.

My colleagues Michael Brächer and Matthias Kaufmann write what defaulting property owners can expect – and whether it is worth submitting the declaration later.

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Residential area in Essen-Heidhausen: Better late than never

Photo: Hans Blossey / IMAGO

With a total of 36 million buildings in Germany, tens of millions of tax returns are involved.

The tax authorities themselves are under time pressure, according to the colleagues, because the Federal Constitutional Court has set a deadline for the reform of the property tax: 2025 is to be paid for the first time according to the new assessment.

"The possibility of submitting data still exists, both in writing and digitally," say the colleagues.

"Anyone who manages to do it with a few days' delay is likely to meet with the tacit acceptance of the tax officials: The declarations received so far are far from being processed, latecomers hardly cause any additional work at first - which becomes even greater when penalties are imposed." However, there is no legal entitlement to fair dealing.

What threatens those who need even longer?

Some financial administrations have announced that they will first send out reminders.

Property owners should take action at the latest after receiving a reminder from the tax office.

After that, there is a risk of a surcharge of 25 euros per month and, the colleagues also mention this possibility, “a penalty payment of up to 25,000 euros, with which the levy is to be enforced”.

If the declaration is still not submitted, the tax office will make an estimate of the property tax value, which will most likely not be in favor of the property owner.

• Read more here: Property tax return failed?

  You are threatened now 

What else is important today

• The Federal Court of Audit demands an ultimatum to the end of car tax concessions:

  The reform is "years overdue": The Federal Court of Auditors is urging Finance Minister Lindner to abolish car tax reductions for agriculture and forestry.

  It's about a billion euros.

• Dozens of dead, hundreds injured after attack in Pakistan:

  At least 89 people died in an attack on a mosque in north-west Pakistan - probably mostly police officers.

  The Prime Minister speaks of an "attack on Pakistan".

• Teachers should work longer:

  One hour more per week, so that the shortage of teachers is compensated: In Saxony-Anhalt's schools, the weekly working hours are to be increased.

  The state government hopes for noticeable effects, the teachers' associations are outraged.

• The world's largest sovereign wealth fund posts a record loss of 152 billion euros:

  Norway's sovereign wealth funds suffered a heavy loss due to rising interest rates and weakening stock markets as a result of the Ukraine war.

  The biggest since the 2008 financial crisis. It ends a record series.

• Space probe photographs bear's face on Mars:

  The nose could be a volcanic or mud vent: A space probe has sent a photo to Earth reminiscent of a bear's face.

What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+

• God.

  guns.

  Gas stoves:

  are gas stoves harmful and should they be banned?

  An ideological war has raged over America's kitchens ever since the Product Safety Agency issued a warning.

• Which is more broken, my back or the health system?

  My lower back hurts so much I can hardly move.

  But my orthopaedist doesn't have an appointment for another six weeks.

  Checkout patient stop.

  Well, I wouldn't have made it to the practice anyway.

• "It's always the others who are addicted":

  millions of people in Germany drink too much, 1.6 million are dependent, and the damage runs into billions.

  In a clinic in the Ruhr area, attempts are being made to treat people who are at risk but not yet dependent.

• Online trolls have Emma Watson read "Mein Kampf" aloud:

  With voice cloning, real voices are imitated by software.

  This technology is making headlines again – because a new US service has so far hardly been interested in who has whom imitated there.

• Should Iran's Revolutionary Guards be on the EU terror list?

  The Revolutionary Guards are largely responsible for the suppression of the protests in Iran.

  Nevertheless, the Europeans hesitate to put the organization on the terror list.

  The dispute is about these arguments.

Which is less important today

Enlarge image

Jaafar Jackson (stock image from 2014) and his uncle Michael (in 1987)

Photo: AP / dpa

Model nephew:

Jaafar Jackson, 26-year-old up-and-coming actor, is set to star in a film about the life of his uncle Michael Jackson.

Jaafar is a son of the American musician and Michael Jackson brother Jermaine Jackson.

In the opinion of director Antoine Fuqua, who wants to film the life of the »King of Pop«, who died in 2009 and was overshadowed by allegations of abuse, Jafaar Jackson is an »artist with the power, charisma and musical talent of Michael Jackson«.

Mini concave mirror

You can find the whole concave mirror here.

cartoon of the day

And tonight?

If you could watch the 1997 film »Life is a construction site« in the ARD media library, in my opinion it is one of the greatest Berlin films ever.

Among others, Christiane Paul and Jürgen Vogel are playing.

The work by director Wolfgang Becker shows the German capital as the home of dreamers and alcoholics, beautiful night people and proletarians in sweatpants.

My colleague Susanne Weingarten praised it at the time of its theatrical release as a »completely serious film in which the viewers have a surprising amount of laughter, a wonderfully laconic film without vanity, without fear and without a strained eye on market success« .

I wish you a nice evening.

Warm