MittelstandsWiki

The focal point of a conference called “EU jurisdiction and consequences for German tax law” will be the opportunities and risks facing German companies in the wake of verdicts already passed or to be expected by the European Court of justice (EuGH). The conference taking place in Munich on the 13th of November is organized by the Association of German chambers of commerce and industry (DIHK) for Munich and Upper Bavaria. Participation is for free. +++

According to the Federal Statistical Office in the first half of 2006 standard wages increased by between 0.5 and 3.4 percent. These figures include increases agreed upon in new wage settlements as well as increases fixed by already existing agreements which took effect in the first half of 2006. +++

The Federal Association of small and medium-sized entities (BVMW) hold the opinion that dismissal protection laws are the major obstacle preventing SMEs from taking on new staff in Germany. According to the association´s chairman, Mr. Mario Ohoven, this fact is confirmed by a survey carried out among 502 of the BVMW´s member companies. Therefore Mr. Ohoven is in favour of an abolition of this kind of protection in companies of up to 20 employees. +++

The German equivalent of the British MOT (TÜV) has allegedly developed an effective technology for the protection against product piracy. Core piece of the new service package for the protection of intellectual property is the Brand Protection System which generates a fake-proof 13-digits code which is individual for each product. The codification can be combined with all conventional protective markings ranging from bar codes to 3-D holograms and laser engravings which makes the new technology applicable to products of mass production as well as to expensive luxury goods. +++

The Federal ministry for economic affairs and technology (BMWI) sponsors counselling on the implementation of e-business for small and medium-sized entities (SMEs). This initiative is to give unbiased and manufacturer-independent advice to SMEs operating in the consumer products industry on the opportunities, obstacles and solutions provided by e-business applications and to provide them with clear guidance for action on e-business projects carried out in the entrepreneurial practice. +++

“Triple-Play”, “mobile TV” and “IP-TV” are slogans which for years have gone the round but apart from initial euphoria and some small-scale market testing to date have only yielded little -if any – convincing services. Is there still a chance for IP-TV and mobile TV, which has just been launched for test reasons, to become successful applications? What are they doing and who can benefit from them? Are there sensible business applications provided by these technologies? Which value could they give to business? Do they open up new fields of activity to small and medium-sized entities? +++

Mr Rainer Schäffer, owner of a property management company, on his own behalf raises an important question published in a recent press statement. He argues that Germany’s economy is primarily based upon small entities, i.e. very small entities (up to 9 employees) account for approx. 90 percent, small companies (10 to 49 staff) for 8 percent whereas medium-sized companies and major enterprises (from 50 employees up) make up 2 percent of all companies. Thus, who is really talked about when politicians and economic decision makers talk about “medium-sized” companies? +++

A new internet site called Network Electronic Business (NEG) is proving its worth as an important information platform for small and medium-sized entities (SMS) and craft businesses. The initiative which is sponsored by the Federal ministry for economic affairs and technology (BMWi) provides for free and in an unbiased manner useful information on several e-business topics. Also part of the site’s service is a comprehensive event calendar, a data base listing e-business service providers and downloads of numerous documents. +++

According to a press release Germans do not like working in their own country. More than one quarter of all employees would like it best to work abroad. A similar thing can be observed with French people: More than 20 percent would like to leave today rather than tomorrow in order to work in other countries. +++

The new general equal-treatment law (AGG) brings about quite a lot of substantial changes for all companies and administrative bodies. Depending on company size and number of plants all companies have to designate one or more officers in charge of complaints. In order to be prepared for these tasks a profound knowledge of the regulations of the new law as well as of other legal standards is necessary. +++