Receivables from the tax office Many short-time workers have to pay taxes

Status: 14.06.2021 2:49 p.m.

The short-time work allowance saved many jobs. But many recipients are now realizing that the tax office is demanding an additional tax payment: an additional burden for an already lower income. From Iris Sayram, rbb It is now the third amendment to the short-time work regulation that is going through parliament this week. “With short-time working we secure millions of jobs through the crisis and get the German economy important skilled workers for a quick start now in the summer”, Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) repeated only recently. This statement is not disputed; but after more than a year of short-time work, there are also side effects.

Short-time work requires a tax return

These are particularly noticeable now, as those receiving the benefits have to submit their tax returns for the 2020 pandemic year. Everyone who has “applied for more than 410 euros in the calendar year” has to make the declaration, according to the website of the Federal Employment Agency (BA). The calculation that as an employee subject to wage tax you usually get something back does not always apply here. Some even have to pay back large sums of money to the tax office. “This mainly affects the recipients who were not sent 100 percent on short-time work, but only partially,” says the managing director of the Federal Association of Wage Tax Aid Associations, Uwe Rauhöft tagesschau.de . The Berlin Left MP Sebastian Schluesselburg knows exactly such a case from his public consultation: A woman from the hotel industry was put on short-time work at the beginning of the pandemic. “Your cash flow is already greatly reduced by the high rent and having a small child,” said Schluesselburg. But she has now been completely “blown away” by the additional tax payment of more than 1000 euros – payable within four weeks.

background 05/19/2021

With the decision comes the tax shock

“This is not an isolated case,” says Uwe Rauhöft from the income tax aid association. “If the regular working hours are reduced to 50 percent and short-time work allowance is granted for the other 50 percent, then the wage tax is sometimes reduced very sharply,” explains the expert. The reduced wage tax will fall disproportionately because of the progressive tax rate. “As a result, however, too little wage tax is paid over the year,” Rauhöft continues. With the income tax return this is now noticeable. Those affected often only noticed this when they received the payment notification. “If you don’t expect it beforehand and don’t know, you now have a problem.” The Federal Employment Agency cannot give precise figures on how many recipients are now confronted with back payments. It is only clear that there are not just a few isolated cases. Several million employees have received short-time allowance since the beginning of the pandemic. According to the latest projections by the BA, it was around 2.6 million in March.

05/05/2021

Experts complain that there is insufficient information

In the FAQ area of ​​the employment agency there is a note in the last sub-item that “short-time allowance as wage replacement benefit is tax-free”. It also states that the service will be taken into account when determining the tax rate. “This can lead to additional tax claims”. This should have been pointed out more clearly, says tax law expert Sandra Inioutis. The tax advisor knows the problem. “It is a highly complicated process and it is not possible to say in general who it affects.” It is all the more necessary to better educate the recipients here. “Perhaps one should have said from an official point that the basically tax-free service is provided with a” but “”, says Inioutis tagesschau.de .

05/22/2021

Little indulgence in repayment

“As if that weren’t bad enough, the tax office is proceeding with full force here,” reports the left-wing politician Schliisselburg. The young family wanted to pay the 1000 euros in two installments, but that would only be possible if all of their own funds were practically exhausted. A credit line must also be used beforehand in order to get a deferral approved. “That is unbelievable. People are being driven into over-indebtedness,” the politician said indignantly. But the law on the possibility of deferral requires that an installment payment is only to be granted in the event of “considerable hardship”. “Unfortunately that is the legal situation. But I would not recommend a deferral either, the interest rate is six percent per year. That will then be even more expensive,” advises expert Rauhöft from the income tax aid association. However, the interest rates for an overdraft facility are likely to be in a similar range or even higher.

The Super League was the slap on UEFA’s Champions League restructuring project on 36 teams. The most powerful football agency in Europe affirmed it would do everything to prevent this “rude project”. Old continental football heads are also believed to be furious at the advent of the Super League. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also part of the opposition, saying the Super League will “harm football” and is asking sports leaders to step in. The European Clubs Association (ECA) requested an emergency meeting over the weekend for the project, but none of the Super League founding groups attended. The participants were in fact only Ajax CEO Edwin van der Sar and representatives of Bayern and PSG. Not stopping there, representatives of the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga all oppose this plan. England participated in the Super League the most when the Big 6 including MU, Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham were all said to have agreed. Knowing this information, Gary Neville indignantly: “Everything is bullshit. I have been a MU fan for 40 years but I feel disgusting. I am most disgusted with MU and Liverpool. Gary Neville Liverpool, they are always proud of the slogan “You will never have to go alone”, which is the national team, the fan club. MU is a team with a history of 100 years from workers, but are they planning to give everything to an unbeatable tournament where they are not relegated? It’s a shame and we have to take back our power from the top clubs in this country, including mine. This is purely greed, they (the bosses) are club imposters. They have nothing to do with the football of this country. The fan community here is 100 years old, who live, love football and the club wholeheartedly. They need protection. I make a lot of money from football, I make a lot of money from football, I invest money in a football club. I am not against economic employment from football. But there need to be fair rules for a tournament, the right for a team like Leicester to win the league and go to the Champions League. MU is not even attending the Champions League. So are Arsenal and Tottenham. But do they want the privilege of taking part in top tournaments? A pathetic satire. Enough is enough, this greed needs to end. My responses are not based solely on feelings. I am very honest. Subtract 6 clubs from tomorrow, push them to the bottom of the chart and cut all their money. It takes strong action “. Agreeing with the old game, Sir Alex Ferguson responded: “Super League pulls back the 70-year history of European club football. As a player of Dunfermline provincial football in the 1960s and fourths. The way the Aberdeen manager won the European Cup Winners’ Cup, I understood that a team in Scotland attending the European Cup was like climbing Everest. Everton spent £ 500 million to build a new stadium with ambitions to attend the Champions League. Fans around the world love this tournament. When I was at MU, we reached the finals four times and those were always special nights. I am not sure if MU will participate in the Super League, but I am not part of the decision making.