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DE 
George Moeritz
Dresden. Reclaims to almost one in three: When examining corona aid applications, 30 percent of Saxon companies found out that they had to repay all or part of the money they applied for to the state. This is above the German average of 25 percent. In Saxony, it is also a matter of slightly more money per case: as the responsible Sächsische Aufbaubank announced in response to a query from sächsische.de, the average repayment to Saxon companies was 7,600 euros. The national average was 200 euros less.
This Monday is the deadline for companies to submit their final coronavirus invoices. A consultation period will run until the end of November. According to Aufbaubank spokesman Volker Stößel, a total of 35,400 packages from final invoices are to be examined in Saxony. The packages consist of several coronavirus aid packages, including November and December aid and various bridging aid packages. The Saxon Development Bank (SAB) has so far received 27,500 parcels and checked 14,200 of them, according to Stößel. There were also back payments to companies: in 39 percent of cases, with an average of 4,200 euros. Nationwide, 41 percent of cases resulted in back payments. As a rule, tax consultants dealt with the applications.
Aid money repaid because decline in sales not as severe as feared
At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in spring 2000, the federal government also provided emergency coronavirus aid in the form of a grant. This was intended to help companies and solo self-employed people out of the expected revenue shortfall. In Saxony, 84,000 applications for this liquidity assistance were approved, amounting to 673 million euros. However, according to Stößel, many entrepreneurs later discovered that their turnover had not slumped as much as they had feared - especially as some closure orders were "eased" by the authorities or lifted earlier than expected.
By the end of August 2024, there were 14,000 cases of "voluntary repayments" via the SAB in Saxony totaling 14.5 million euros. The state's own development bank also sent out 4,200 repayment claims, of which 2,700 have been paid to date. Nationwide, 582,000 companies and self-employed persons have paid back emergency aid totaling 3.58 billion euros, as the Federal Ministry of Economics informed the German Press Agency on request. In several federal states, the re-registration procedures and checks have not yet been completed.
Saxony gave discount for quick repayment of aid loans
The Federal Ministry expects 90 percent of the final accounts to be submitted to arrive by the end of the month. State Secretary for Economic Affairs Sven Giegold said in July that the "protection of all taxpayers" requires that the correct need be proven. In Saxony, companies were also able to receive interest-free loans as aid at the start of the coronavirus crisis, which did not have to be repaid for three years. Those who repaid on time and in full were allowed to keep ten percent of the amount. The Free State of Saxony lent 752 million euros to companies in need under this program.
In total, more than 1.9 billion euros in grants were awarded to around 165,000 entrepreneurs, event organizers and artists in Saxony. The 30 or so programmes were often criticized for being complicated. At the time, the tax consultants' association reported not only overtime, but also overburdened restaurateurs and retailers. On the other hand, the SAB spoke of more than 300 cases of suspected subsidy fraud in an interim report. (SZ with dpa)
