Maier against traffic light decision on VAT
Thuringia's Minister of the Interior and SPD leader Georg Maier considers the increase in VAT in the hospitality industry decided by the traffic light coalition to be wrong. "They are making savings in the wrong place. This will hit the Thuringian hospitality industry hard," said Maier on Monday at the presentation of the annual statistical report in Erfurt. The hospitality industry in Thuringia is already under massive pressure due to increased prices for food and energy as well as a lack of skilled workers.
He feared that the return to a VAT rate of 7 percent to 19 percent from January would lead to a drop in turnover for the industry in Thuringia. "Many people are suffering from inflation," said the minister. They are eating out less. This may be different in the conurbations in western Germany.
In Thuringia, the worsening economic situation in the hospitality industry could also mean that the generational change in many businesses would not succeed because business takeovers would not be profitable.
According to figures from the State Statistical Office, presented by President Holger Poppenhäger, food prices in Thuringia have risen by around a third since 2020. In 2023, the pace of price increases had slowed. This also applies to prices for housing, water and energy, which have risen by 13.6 percentage points since 2020 according to the statisticians' calculations. The situation is now such that agreed wage increases are also putting more money back in people's pockets, said Maier.
The hotel and restaurant association assumes that the increase in VAT in Thuringia will cost livelihoods - especially in rural regions. The tax rate had been lowered to relieve the burden on the hospitality industry during the coronavirus crisis.
Maier emphasized that the increase in VAT in the hospitality industry, as decided by the traffic light coalition, is misplaced, stating it will negatively impact the already struggling Thuringian hospitality sector. The rise in VAT from 7% to 19% beginning in January could potentially lead to a decrease in industry turnover in Thuringia, given the current inflationary pressures, which have led to less frequent dining out by consumers.
Source: www.dpa.com
