Germany offers $10.8bn additional relief to COVID-19 victims

Pakistan News & Features Services 

The German government has moved to help further their workers and businesses affected by the pandemic by offering more wage support and tax relief. Germany's coalition parties, on April 23, have agreed to further measures worth 10 billion euros ($10.81bn) in order to shield workers and companies from the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The document agreed by senior members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition has also agreed to temporarily lower the tax burden for the catering industry through a reduced VAT rate of 7 percent for food and to give some tax relief for small companies. 

The package envisages increased financial support of the federal government worth 500 million euros ($540.88bn) for schools and pupils to boost e-learning and digitalization. 

The aid package includes more government wage support for people in short-time work schemes, an arrangement that subsidises wages so that firms can cut working hours rather than sack employees. 

Germany had previously approved an initial rescue package worth more than 750 billion euros ($811.31bn) to mitigate the effect of the coronavirus outbreak, with the government taking on new debt for the first time since 2013. 

The first package, announced in March, comprised a debt-financed supplementary budget of 156 billion euros ($168bn) and a stabilization fund worth 600 billion euros for loans to struggling businesses and direct stakes in companies. 

Germany's infection rate has slowed a week ago and the country has slowly begun to reopen its economy but the number of confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 2,237 to 145,694 on April 22.