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Berlin (dpa) - The federal government has come a step further with billions in grants for companies and the self-employed in the Corona crisis.
From this Tuesday on, the first funds from the December aid will flow, as the Federal Ministry of Economics announced in Berlin.
Specifically, it is about advance payments, an advance on later payments.
Business associations had repeatedly expressed criticism of the slow implementation of the aid.
Companies receive down payments of up to 50,000 euros, solo self-employed up to 5,000 euros.
This already applies to the November aid.
The federal government had decided to provide billions in aid for companies, for example from the catering industry, which had to close their business operations since the beginning of November due to the partial lockdown.
Revenue losses of up to 75 percent compared to the same month last year are reimbursed through subsidies.
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In the case of bridging aid III, which covers the funding months from January, operational fixed costs such as rents and leases are reimbursed.
The federal government justified this with the immense cost of the November and December aid.
The maximum amount for Bridging Aid III was increased from 200,000 euros to 500,000 euros.
This maximum grant is planned for companies directly and indirectly affected by closures.
Part payments are also planned for bridging aid III.
Improvements to bridging aid III were not to be expected, as it was said in the run-up to the deliberations of the federal and state governments on Tuesday from circles of the federal government.
It was expected that the tough lockdown would be extended until the end of January.
The chief economist of the Federal Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Hans-Jürgen Völz, said about the start of the advance payments in December aid: “If the news is confirmed, this is a first ray of hope from the point of view of companies threatened by bankruptcy.
Our push for the quick disbursement of the liquidity that companies urgently need has thus proven successful. "
He criticized the reimbursement of fixed costs for bridging aid III was "completely inadequate" in a phase of almost complete lockdown.
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The trade had also criticized the aid programs as insufficient and warned of a wave of bankruptcies.
Leading economists expect economic output to decline in the event of a lengthy lockdown.
For example, the head of the German Institute for Economic Research, Marcel Fratzscher, told the “editorial network Germany” that the institute had significantly reduced its growth forecast for 2021, from 5.3 percent to 3.5 percent.
The head of the "Wirtschaftsweise", Lars Feld, told the "Handelsblatt": "If we can come to a slight easing in February or March, then an upturn as strong as in summer 2020 is possible in the second quarter."
After a slump in economic output in the spring, the German economy grew surprisingly strongly in the third quarter.
For the year as a whole, however, the federal government is assuming a decline in gross domestic product of 5.5 percent according to the autumn forecast.
The FDP economic politician Reinhard Houben accused the federal government on Tuesday of wasting valuable time: "While many people are still waiting for the November aid, the December aid is only starting slowly."
If there is not a quick reaction, the existence of numerous companies and restaurateurs will be put at risk.
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The federal government expects a financial volume of around 15 billion euros each for November and December aid.
When the regular aid will be paid is open.
For example, short-time work benefits are deducted.
It can take a while until all the information is available.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210105-99-904636 / 2
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