Saxony is suspending reclaims of Corona aid for the time being – fear of existence!

Saxony is suspending reclaims of Corona aid for the time being – fear of existence!

There is currently some unrest in Saxony in connection with the Corona emergency aid. Economics Minister Dirk Panter recently announced that reclaims of federal aid would be temporarily suspended. This decision was made in order not to cause additional injustice to the many unsettled entrepreneurs who suffered existential fears during the pandemic. According to radiodresden.de, the Sächsische Aufbaubank will waive new claims and reminders while the ministry, together with the bank, examines options to avoid unnecessary hardship.

This temporary suspension is no coincidence. In recent weeks, the pressure on politicians has increased as many of those affected feel betrayed. For example, traders in Döbeln demonstrated last week because much of the aid they received was not originally announced as repayable loans. The protest is directed against the repayment demands, which, according to tagesschau.de, were first made after the first lockdown, five years ago.

Entrepreneurs’ existential fears

A striking example is the master hairdresser Christian Schneider from Dresden, who received a repayment notice for an impressive 9,000 euros. He had to close his business for six weeks during the lockdown and also took out a loan of 17,000 euros. The Sächsische Aufbaubank argues that there was no liquidity shortage, which leads to great frustration and contradiction among many of these entrepreneurs. The same thing happened to bookseller Sandra Kretzschmar, who was also asked to repay 9,000 euros and is planning to close her shop because she cannot claim many expenses.

The concerns are diverse: An affected entrepreneur named Hertes expressed concern that she could slip into old-age poverty if she had to make the repayments. Your financial cushion was originally intended for retirement planning. There is great uncertainty, especially given that the state has banned many companies from operating during the pandemic. Many entrepreneurs had hoped that they would be exempt from health insurance and pension contributions during this time or that the state would cover their rent and living costs, which, according to mdr.de, did not happen.

Political pressure is growing

The resistance to the reclaims is remarkable. In Saxony there are already around 900 objections to repayment requests and 43,000 cases are still open. This number illustrates the far-reaching effects of the Corona measures on the Saxon economy and the entire country. Politicians are confronted with accusations of breaking their word because many announcements regarding the awarding of aid were communicated as grants and not as loans.

Minister Panter and his team are faced with a mammoth task to find solutions together with the Saxon Development Bank and to avoid entrepreneurs falling into existential difficulties again. It remains to be hoped that the talks can lead to a result acceptable to all parties.