Finances - Tax refunds add up to over two billion
With over two billion Euro, Hamburg's tax arrears have reached a new all-time high. According to the Senate response to a written inquiry from the Left fraction in the parliament, the total arrears amounted to 2.16 billion Euro at the end of June. This represents approximately 330 million Euro or around 18% more than the previous year.
The increase was particularly noticeable in the case of unpaid corporate and business taxes. These alone rose by over 50% since the turn of the year, reaching almost 600 million Euro, according to the Senate response.
Left calls for closer scrutiny of businesses
"Our inquiry clearly shows that it pays to look more closely at large corporations and millionaires in terms of taxing large profits," said David Stoop, the financial expert for the Left. "And the tax arrears in corporate and business tax, which are, after all, the responsibility of the city of Hamburg, have significantly increased."
It is a matter of tax fairness that large corporations, which make huge profits, pay their fair share in taxes. Not collecting these taxes is deeply unfair, Stoop stressed. He urged Finance Senator Andreas Dressel (SPD) to ensure sufficient staff to better monitor businesses. Otherwise, "the ordinary taxpayers will be left in the lurch," he warned.
Dressel: Tax inspectors do not grow on trees
Finance Senator Andreas Dressel (SPD) dismissed the criticism. Measures have already been taken to increase the number of staff - mainly through the training of new inspectors. "The training offensive for tax inspectors is underway – and the opposition should be clear that tax inspectors do not grow on trees," he said.
The high tax arrears are not primarily due to large corporations and millionaires but are mainly due to small and micro businesses. In addition, they resulted from tax deferrals granted to struggling businesses during the coronavirus crisis, which are now being paid off successively, Dressel explained. "At the time, it was the order of the day and this circumstance should be known to the opposition."
The SPD's Finance Senator, Andreas Dressel, acknowledged the need for closer scrutiny of large corporations and millionaires in terms of tax fairness, as highlighted by David Stoop from The Left, due to the significant increase in unpaid corporate taxes in Hamburg. Despite this, Dressel emphasized that increasing the number of tax inspectors is a complex process, referring to the ongoing training program for new inspectors. Contrarily to Stoop's concerns, Dressel stated that it's not just large corporations responsible for the high tax arrears, but small and micro businesses and tax deferrals granted during the coronavirus crisis as well.
