Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – At the height of the Corona crisis, the state helped companies with billions in aid. According to the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten” (Monday), around a third of this Corona emergency aid from 2020 must now be repaid. According to calculations by the state-owned L-Bank, 599.5 million euros of the money would be reclaimed, the Ministry of Economic Affairs also announced. In total, more than 2.1 billion euros were paid to companies as first aid in the first few months of the pandemic.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the emergency aid was used to support companies and the self-employed who were in a situation that threatened their existence at the time. However, if the liquidity bottleneck reported earlier was less than assumed, the companies would have to repay the money. The feedback procedure had caused resentment among those affected.
A total of more than 245,000 applications were submitted. However, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, it is difficult to quantify the exact number of companies, as some companies submitted several applications during the period.
The companies have until the end of June 2023 to return the money. Economics Minister Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut (CDU) has already announced that all scope for generous solutions in the final settlement will be used. These included individual deferral and installment payment agreements.
