By Gunnar Schupelius
The companies in the country must be relieved, otherwise it will be too expensive for all of us. But politics is once again going in exactly the opposite direction, says Gunnar Schupelius.
With the beginning of the new year, German companies will be burdened with a large number of new regulations.
Anyone who thinks that this is none of their business is wrong, for two reasons: firstly, it will be expensive because more and more bureaucracy and more and more regulations cause additional costs that are passed on to consumers, i.e. to all of us.
Second, jobs are lost when the burden becomes too high and companies move production abroad as a result. That’s already happening.
► Here are just three examples of new regulations that are now in force.
Firstly, restaurants and cafés must offer reusable packaging for drinks and food outside of the home. The only exceptions are small businesses with fewer than five employees.
For drinks, reusable cups must be kept available for all sizes in case the customer requests them. The food and drinks in the reusable packaging must not be more expensive than in the one-way packaging. Restaurateurs are allowed to charge a deposit on the reusable tableware, but are left with the costs of procurement, cleaning and logistics.
Secondly: Anyone who wants to build a house is forced to install a photovoltaic system on the roof, which generates electricity from solar energy. This regulation is new in Berlin, it applies to residential buildings, commercial and industrial buildings and even to existing buildings if the roof is converted.
30 percent of the roof area must be covered with photovoltaic systems. The only exceptions are very small buildings with a floor space of less than 50 square meters.
The solar obligation is an expensive pleasure. The installation costs a lot of money, very little electricity is produced in winter and the once high remuneration for solar electricity is no longer available.
Thirdly, the so-called “Supply Chain Act” came into force nationwide.
It prohibits the purchase of raw materials, preliminary products and products from abroad if human rights were violated during production or environmental protection was neglected. For smaller companies in particular, it is associated with an enormous amount of effort or almost impossible to provide this evidence completely.
Germany going it alone with the supply chain law makes no sense at all and is even dangerous, since domestic production is disadvantaged compared to foreign competition.
In principle, all three regulations are well-intentioned: waste should be avoided, solar power generated and produced cleanly. But they’re enforced no matter what, that’s the problem.
The opposite would be necessary: Germany must stem the flood of regulations and reduce taxes and burdens. Otherwise production will fall, prices will rise and life for people on low incomes in this country will become unaffordable.
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