• Citizens will receive a warning text message on their mobile phones on December 8th
• New winter timetable for Deutsche Bahn
December emergency aid for customers of gas and district heating, as well as for pensioners and students
Before the planned gas price brake comes into force in March 2023, private households and smaller companies are to receive support. To be more precise, the state takes on the down payments for gas and district heating in December. The payment will be one twelfth of the annual consumption multiplied by the gas price for December. Consumers themselves do not have to take action. This is done by the landlord or if you are the owner yourself and by SEPA-Pay a direct debit mandate, then the supplier is obliged to debit less money from the account. However, landlords have one year to submit the statement to their tenants. It is therefore quite possible that tenants will not find out how much their relief is until December 2023. Nevertheless, tenants must be informed of the estimated relief amount as early as this December. But that’s not all with relief. Pensioners also receive an energy price flat rate of 300 euros. However, it is assumed that there is an entitlement to an old-age, reduced earning capacity, orphan’s or widow’s pension. If you are entitled to pension payments under the Civil Service or Soldiers Pension Act, you are also qualified to receive the 300 euros, reports the Augsburger Allgemeine. The payment is automatically processed by the pension fund if one of the above conditions is met. The federal government also reports on its website about additional energy flat rates for students and trainees. They can receive a one-time payment of 200 euros. However, this flat rate must be requested separately, as the necessary data is not available to make the payment. The federal and state governments are currently developing a digital application platform that can be used to apply for the down payment.
New warning system will be tested on December 8th
In order to warn people in good time in the event of a disaster, the federal government is testing the new Cell Broadcast warning system on December 8th. This is already in use in other EU countries. The severe storms in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in July 2021 have shown once again that the current warning system is no longer sufficient. Thanks to cell broadcast, everyone who owns a smartphone will receive a warning on their cell phone on December 8th to test the new system. According to Deutsche Handwerks Zeitung, this function should work on all Apple devices from the iPhone 6s and Android devices from Android version 11 onwards.
New certificate of professional qualification for beauticians
From December 31st, beauticians will need a so-called proof of specialist knowledge. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection writes about this on its website: “The Ordinance on Protection from Harmful Effects of Non-Ionizing Radiation when Used on Humans (NiSV) regulates the use of optical radiation, ultrasound, electrical, magnetic and electromagnetic fields for cosmetic purposes.” Beauticians must therefore report all relevant devices to the authorities two weeks before they are put into operation, and documentation is also required. If a beautician wants to carry out permanent hair removal with lasers, for example, a certificate of professional qualification is now required.
Firecrackers on New Year’s Eve are allowed again
Due to the pandemic, there had been bans on gatherings and firecrackers on New Year’s Eve for the last two years. That’s over now. Both the ban on assembly and the ban on firecrackers were both lifted. It is now up to the counties and cities themselves how to deal with the situation. Many regions have already announced that there will be no such measures regarding New Year’s Eve this year.
Telephone Protection Act comes into force
With the entry into force of the Telephone Protection Act on December 1, consumers should be better protected against telephone fraudsters. Network operators are more responsible for protecting consumers. Calls from foreign networks should no longer display domestic phone numbers as sender information, network operators must suppress this, reports the Deutsche Handwerks Zeitung. It is also reported that supposed emergency numbers are also not allowed to be put through. It is also no longer allowed to connect to expensive special numbers such as (0)900.
Deutsche Bahn gets new winter timetable
The new winter timetable of Deutsche Bahn, which will apply from December 11th, is of particular interest to commuters. The group announces more trips, line changes and the use of new ICE trains. The new high-speed route between Wendlingen and Ulm is thus opened, which means that the number of trips can be increased by 20. There are also up to 60 percent more seats for trips to Frankfurt Airport. The new ICE 3neo will be used and there will be even more connections to other European countries.
News at Deutsche Post
On December 1, Deutsche Post will discontinue its “E-Post” service. With this service, it has been possible for the last 12 years to create a letter digitally, which Swiss Post then prints out and sends. This service is now being discontinued for private customers, it will remain in place for business customers. However, private customers can then use a new service. In the future, the Post will cooperate with GMX and Web.de. In the future, the providers will integrate an online office in which documents, just like with e-mail, will be sent digitally to the post office, which will then print out, frank and send the letters.
The posting deadlines for the Christmas period were also published by Deutsche Post. If you want your parcels and parcels to arrive on time, you should hand them in by December 20th. December 22 is the deadline for letters and postcards. This only applies to shipments within Germany.
Investor Reminder
Investors should make a note of December 15th. This is where the application deadline for loss certificates ends. This is necessary in order to offset losses from one depot with losses from another depot, so that the final withholding tax can be reclaimed in the tax return. To get a loss certificate, you need to contact your bank.
Editorial office finanzen.net
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