Why don't construction prices go down?

Wow. Then everything is okay.

I didn’t say that. I only said that there is no reason for illegal work and tax evasion.
More wages and using tax money sensibly elsewhere is the better solution. But that doesn’t change the outcome for the minimum wage earner.

Oh, I see. By the way, it is very unsatisfactory to work full-time and still regularly have to go to the employment office,

I don’t deny that either. But saying that I have to do illegal work instead of going to the employment office in order to live decently cannot be the solution.

These are just distracting posts again about the fact that minimum wage earners are doing badly and are forced by the state to cheat it and thus screw over the whole society.
No, they don’t have to.

Everyone here in this forum lives in paradise, one should never forget that.

Also no here! Many struggle more or less at times. We do not all live in paradise.

But don't worry, the tide will turn shortly.

"Shortly" has not occurred since 2021 and 14 accounts later...

One more short addition. If you earn the minimum wage and have two children (4-person household, he/she is a housewife), you don’t end up with 1.7xx€ at the end of the month. Then you get 500€ child benefit. And the state grants you about 600€ housing allowance. And from tax money, you also get almost 600€ child supplement.

Amazing. Child benefit is the child's money and not money for you. It should not be considered as income but as support for the child. That’s why it’s called child benefit and not parental allowance.

You can forget about the child supplement and housing allowance depends on the rent. You won’t get 600 euros there either.

It gets funny when the craftsman has to take his Golf to the auto repair shop. Then he pays nearly 130 euros an hour at the VW brand dealership. That’s tight. Not much can break down if not even a monthly wage can cover it quickly.

But here everything is nicely calculated. With a good craftsman’s wage, you’re a social case in Germany. At least he won't be able to afford a house without undeclared work.

If almost half a trillion euros of undeclared work is done every year, you can calculate yourself what taxes and social contributions this wage/profit triggers

Again, completely the wrong numbers. Half a billion is the entire federal budget of the Federal Republic. That would be 500 billion.
Just strike out one or two zeros, then it might fit.

Or simply calculate how many illegally sold Döner each German would have to eat to reach such numbers. Then you will realize how flawed your calculation is. You’re a banker after all, and sometimes things get mixed up.

Completely the wrong numbers here too. Half a billion is the entire federal budget of the Federal Republic.

You are even worse with numbers. Our federal budget is a bit meager. Or are you already calculating in Reichsmarks?

Astonishing. Child benefit is the child's money and not money for you. It should not be considered as income but as maintenance for the child. That's why it's called child benefit and not parental benefit.

… for rent and utilities, food, clothing, vacations, school, hobbies, etc. You cannot separate the child benefit from the general family expenses. With a child: bigger apartment, more expensive vacations during holidays, more groceries, etc. You cannot subtract the child benefit from the income, but you can consider the increased expenses for the child.

You can forget about the child supplement and housing benefit depends on the rent. You won't get 600 euros from that either.

As always, you are well informed. But better use public sources or calculators.

Here everything is nicely calculated as well. With a good craftsman’s salary you are a social case in Germany. At least he won’t be able to afford a house without undeclared work.

He doesn’t need undeclared work for that; he can provide own work. Together with his mates from other trades. THAT is not undeclared work.

Completely wrong numbers here too. Half a billion is the entire federal budget of the Federal Republic. That would be 500 billion. Just remove one or two zeros, then it might fit.

Statista, a reputable source: For the year 2024, the size of the shadow economy in Germany is forecasted at around 481 billion euros. That corresponds to approximately 11.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Germany. Federal budget 2024: 476.81 billion € Can be read at the government’s website. Maybe a foreign word for you: gross domestic product. Abbreviated GDP. It is the economic performance of a country – goods and services. That was about 4.12 trillion last year. That you have problems with numbers. That is 4,120 billion €.

Or simply calculate how many black-market sold doners each German would have to eat to reach such numbers. Then you will realize how flawed your calculation is. You’re just a banker and it gets confusing sometimes.

If I can do one thing, it is to inform myself correctly and deal with numbers. How can anyone be so ignorant and know-it-all. Ignoring facts. Not admitting mistakes.

Half a billion is the entire federal budget of the Federal Republic.

A small mistake happened, it is of course half a trillion. But that does not change the fact itself.

Back to the construction prices.

We are currently experiencing Olaf Scholz’s growth turbo with a bureaucracy reduction unprecedented, as he said in the Bundestag. One can be completely shocked by the zeal. And this will also influence construction prices. But surely only a little. Very surely.

From 07/01/2024, the truck toll will now also apply to vehicles from 3.5 tons. So also for many vans and small trucks used by craftsmen. But since craftsmen do not perform commercial freight transport, the craftsmen’s vehicles were exempted from the toll. But beware. Not all craftsmen and not all transports were exempted.

The Federal Ministry for Logistics and Mobility has created a list of the exempted crafts professions. The Federal Trunk Road Toll Act regulates exactly who is allowed to transport what.

The craftsman exemption according to § 1 para. 2 no. 10 of the Federal Trunk Road Toll Act applies if employees of a craft business use toll roads with a vehicle or vehicle combination over 3.5 up to under 7.5 t technically permissible total mass (tzGm) and

[*]A: transport materials, equipment, or machines that are necessary to carry out their own service and work performances (including tools, work aids, spare parts, building materials, cables, devices or accessories) and/or
[*]B: transport craftily manufactured goods that are produced, further processed or repaired in their own business.

I’ll shorten the nonsense.

So if a relative and not a direct employee of the craft business drives the vehicle, even if he e.g. drives two bags of cement to the construction site, then he is subject to the toll. If the vehicle is driven by an employee of the company, then it is toll-free.

Industrially manufactured goods are subject to toll, craftily manufactured goods are toll-free. Transport from the building materials dealer to the end customer is toll-free. Transport from the building materials dealer to the company warehouse is subject to toll.

There are now long lists with rules about who, what, how and where... Who wants to check that? I see a lot of work for courts already.

It is probably clear that the toll for craftsmen will also be added to the construction prices. I have no idea who can come up with such nonsense.

[*]Regardless of the registration, the craft business must comply with the conditions of the craftsmen’s exemption on every trip and, if necessary, prove compliance with the exemption during suspicion checks. For this purpose, a craftsman card or business registration (copy) and, if applicable, order documents/delivery notes (especially if the craft character of the goods carried is not obvious at first glance) should be carried along.

And all this because of 3 bags of cement and 2 insulation rolls.

[*]The craftsmen’s exemption does not apply to trips where industrially manufactured goods are merely delivered. Industrially manufactured building materials or devices etc. that are used or installed by the craft business on the construction site or at the customer’s are materials for the exercise of the craft profession and can be transported within the exemption.

Got it all! Olaf is very serious about this.