German government offers €50 Billion aid package to cultural sector
“We know the needs, we know about the despair,” said Monika Grütters, Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, “The cultural sector, in particular, is characterized by a high proportion of self-employed people who now have existential problems. I am therefore happy to be able to say: Help is coming – as quickly and as unbureaucratically as possible! I would like to thank the Minister of Economic Affairs, Finance and Labor very sincerely for taking into account the concerns and interests of the artists and the creative and media landscape that we have brought to the table. This shows that the Federal Government as a whole is aware of the unique importance of our cultural, creative and media landscape.”
The federal aid rests on three large pillars that are suitable for responding precisely to the specific living and working conditions of creative people:
1) Small companies are helped with operational security.
The Federal Government will provide emergency financial aid in the form of grants, with immediate operating costs such as renting cinemas, music clubs or artist studios, but also loans for business premises or leasing installments, with a Corona emergency aid for self-employed and small businesses totaling up to 50 billion euros paid or financial bottlenecks can be bridged.
2) Personal living conditions are secured.
As far as the personal livelihood of every individual concerned is concerned, the Federal Government also facilitates access to basic social security for solo self-employed persons. For six months, assets are essentially not taken into account, access to child allowances is made easier and expenses for housing and heating are recognized; that is, everyone can stay in their apartment. The federal government and municipalities are providing a further up to EUR 10 billion for this measure.
3) Many individual legal measures are intended to alleviate hardships.
In addition to emergency corona aid and basic social security for the self-employed, further protective mechanisms had been decided. For example, tenants are prevented from giving notice if they are currently having difficulty paying their rent in full, and the deferral rules for loans in the interests of debtors are improved. The Minister of State for Culture also pointed out that in the event of a loss of income, those affected can apply to the artists’ social security fund and the tax offices to reduce their contributions or advance tax payments; deferrals are also possible.
“The multilevel protection measures agreed today show that the Federal Government is determined to do everything possible to counter the devastating consequences of the Covid 19 pandemic in the cultural and creative fields,” said Grütters. “We won’t let anyone down. We, as the federal government, are now honoring these promises with aid packages worth billions.”
The federal government had previously decided on aid that should also benefit the cultural and creative industries. In addition to short-time work benefits and tax liquidity aids, this includes a massive credit program. From today, affected companies, right down to the smallest self-employed, can take advantage of the new special loans from KfW. Applications for this can already be submitted via the house bank. To this end, private banks, savings banks and Volksbanks are working together with KfW on accelerated credit approval processes.
The Minister of State for Culture and the Media flanked the Federal Government’s measures with support tailored to cultural issues in her area of responsibility. For example, claims for reimbursement of funding should be avoided as far as possible if events or projects cannot be implemented due to the pandemic. The instruments of the cultural budget, in particular the existing funding programs, should be adapted and sharpened with a view to current needs.
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