Still good labor market development leads to further decline in shadow economy in 2019 (in German).
In 2019, the size of the shadow economy in Germany will decrease by around EUR 5 billion. The ratio of the shadow economy to official GDP will thus fall to just over 9 percent. The main reason for this is the continuing good labor market situation, which so far has not been affected by the weaker growth outlook. In addition, lower taxes for the small self-employed make it more worthwhile to register a business.
Companies use many levers to absorb cost increases resulting from the minimum wage (in German).
A general statutory minimum wage was introduced in Germany at the beginning of 2015. On behalf of the Minimum Wage Commission, the IAW has now conducted a comprehensive qualitative study in industries that were heavily affected by the minimum wage to investigate the reactions of companies and employees to the minimum wage. The study showed that companies use a wide range of adaptation strategies to respond to the changes resulting from the introduction of the minimum wage.
Press release April 7, 2016
Handicrafts Amendment Act 2004: Expectations only partially fulfilled - but fears do not materialize either (in German).
