Berlin (dts) - In view of the difficult situation in many catering establishments, the economic policy spokeswoman for the Union parliamentary group, Julia Klöckner (CDU), has insisted on more government support for the establishments. “The negative trend in the death of restaurants must be broken,” said Klöckner to the “Editorial Network Germany” (Friday editions).
She accused the federal government of “making the wrong decision and exacerbating the trend” by returning to the VAT rate of 19 percent. “Now we finally have to take countermeasures.”
Klöckner called for a rapid package of measures: working hours would have to be made more flexible through the introduction of maximum weekly working hours and bureaucratic burdens would have to be significantly reduced. “Citizens’ money must be converted into basic security in order to strengthen incentives for work,” said Klöckner. “And energy costs must also be further reduced by reducing network fees.”
According to a new survey by the credit agency Creditreform, one in ten catering businesses went out of business last year. With around 14.000 closures, the number even reached a three-year high. According to the study, a total of around 48.000 businesses have closed since the start of the pandemic, and 6.100 ended up going bankrupt.
