Reducing Bureaucracy: Family Business Proposals for Economic Relief
Germany has fallen further behind in regulation. A change of course is necessary. Our foundation is submitting proposals to the federal government for a Bureaucracy Relief Act.
1. Introduce a Family Business Test as an Early Warning System
- The SME Test should be expanded to include a Family Business Test. This test would have identified early on that the ban on board-to-supervisory board transitions in listed family businesses was unjustified. The entire German economy would benefit from such a test.
2. Restrict Public Access to the Transparency Register – Reduce Security Risks
- The “once-only principle” should be applied—data should only need to be reported once and automatically shared across registers.
- User-friendly digital solutions should be developed to simplify compliance.
- The German government should oppose further tightening of anti-money laundering regulations at the EU level.
- Public access to personal data should be restricted, while law enforcement efforts against financial crime should be strengthened.
- A clear definition of “legitimate interest” for accessing data should be established.
- The risk of data misuse must be minimized to prevent criminals from exploiting freely accessible business data.
3. Prevent Overburdening Supply Chain Obligations in the EU Internal Market
- Introduce a de minimis threshold (e.g., €50,000 in annual revenue) to exempt small-scale suppliers.
- Establish country-specific exemptions for “low-risk” jurisdictions (e.g., EU and OECD countries).
- Subsidiaries within the same corporate group should not be required to submit separate reports.
- The EU should introduce a “Safe Harbor” rule allowing businesses to prove compliance through third-party certifications.
4. No Mandatory Reporting of Domestic Tax Arrangements
- A national reporting obligation should not be introduced.
- EU tax reporting requirements (DAC 6) should be reduced or abolished.
5. Faster Tax Audits
- Accelerate tax audits beyond the measures introduced in the Tax Procedure Modernization Act.
6. Faster Decisions on Binding Tax Rulings
- Change the regulation to a mandatory six-month deadline for tax ruling decisions.