Concrete proposals for less bureaucracy in companies come from medium-sized companies. For example, retention periods should be reduced to a uniform five years. “In many cases, the obligation to store accounting documents and other tax-relevant documents for up to ten years requires the provision of larger storage areas as well as old software and hardware, which ties up large resources in the company,” said the association of medium-sized companies.
Bureaucratic obligations represent a significant financial burden, especially for small and medium-sized companies, which can have a negative impact on their competitiveness, explained the association of medium-sized companies.
In addition, there must be clearer requirements for statistical and information obligations. The association also calls for more speed in the digitization of administrative services. Tax authorities should be obliged to provide taxpayers with binding information on doubtful tax issues and feedback on the declarations submitted by companies within a reasonable period of time. Groups such as Edeka, Rewe and Expert are represented in the SME association.
