Tax money waste in the northwest: The federal government raises the alarm!

Tax money waste in the northwest: The federal government raises the alarm!

In Germany, the waste of taxpayers' money is currently being discussed massively. The cases from Lower Saxony and Bremen, which are documented in the new “Black Book” of the Federation of Taxpayers (BDST), are particularly striking. In this report it becomes clear that not only individual projects, but also structural defects in the planning cause considerable financial damage. Among the criticized projects is the container village in Edewecht, known as the "ghost village", which was never put into operation due to faulty needs.

The container village was created in response to an alleged increase in accommodation for refugees in autumn 2022. The district of Ammerland reacted quickly and built the necessary containers. But the reality looked different: the state of Lower Saxony had published excessive demand forecasts, which led to the municipal managers now sitting at the expense of 2.6 million euros. Instead of using the village, the district decided to sell the containers, which caused a significant financial loss.

waste in other projects

But the container project is not the only example. There were also financial grievances in Aurich. There, the city councilor had to leave her post due to illness -related absence and later deselection. Despite its deselection, it will continue to receive a considerable salary of 400,000 euros by 2029. This shows how inefficiently it is in the human resources management and that the deselection of managers also has enormous financial burdens.

In addition, the problems of building the harbor tunnel in Bremerhaven are pointed out in the black book. The tunnel, the opening of which was delayed by five years, has increased the originally estimated costs of 189 million euros to 272 million euros. This raises serious doubts about the economy of this great infrastructure project. The taxpayers' association calls for transparency and a review of expenses to avoid future financial decisions.

The tram stop at Domsheide in Bremen is also mentioned in the black book. The redesign of this important node has been going on for years, the estimated additional costs are now 3 million euros, without having concrete progress. The example illustrates how lengthy political debates can endanger the efficiency of such projects.

financial subsidies and their effects

in Bremen, the so -called "free ticket" also causes children and adolescents excitement. This subsidization of leisure activities costs the city more than 34 million euros. However, since Bremen is chronically underfunded, the sum must be financed through debts. Jan Möhnen from the BDST recommends investing money in meaningful educational offers, such as tutoring, instead. With costs of 30 euros per hour, this sum would have been sufficient for 1.2 million tutoring.

A hydrogen factory that was never built in Hanover also burdened the taxpayers at 10 million euros due to contracts that have already been concluded. The promotion of cargo bikes in Braunschweig also met with criticism: the administrative costs almost reached the amount of the total funding of 50,000 euros. The taxpayers' association speaks of "bureaucracy-hearing" in these contexts and demands more efficiency in the use of public funds.

Overall, the new "black book" lists over 100 cases of tax waste from all over Germany. Jan Möhlen, the BDST's board of directors, critically commented on these developments and warns that more economy and a sense of responsibility are required in the way of dealing with tax money, especially in times of scarce coffers. He emphasizes that the citizens and the economy also earn a serious tax relief in the current situation.

For further information and detailed insights into the listed cases, the article on www.nwzonline.de