Thousands of companies and solo self-employed people in Saxony repaid around 105 million euros in coronavirus emergency aid last year. This is according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs' answer to a small question from BSW member of state parliament Jens Hentschel-Thöricht. The state has also stepped up the recovery of such payments. Accordingly, around 31,100 recovery notices were issued in 2025. According to the data, this figure was around 1,200 in the previous year.
Following criticism, it was decided in the summer to make repayments easier so as not to overburden companies. This includes an interest-free repayment period of six months and the option to pay in installments. According to the ministry, an extension of the repayment period has been applied for in 3,100 cases since these regulations came into force. Of these, 2,200 applications have been approved to date.
In Hentschel-Thöricht's view, the practice continues to threaten the existence of many small businesses: "What was announced as quick, unbureaucratic help in a historically exceptional situation is taken back years later with fiscal hardship - often by those who have still not recovered economically." He called for repayments and executions to be stopped.
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