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Actions to support Ahr wineries have collected more than 7 million euros. But so far the money has been sitting in the donation accounts: tax hurdles prevent the payment. The ministries are aware of this - but nothing has happened so far. Now a solution is emerging, Gisela Kirschstein has researched.

It was the largest crowdfunding campaign in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany: around 47,500 people nationwide supported the "flood wine" campaign to help the wineries damaged and destroyed by the Ahr flood in July 2021. The mud-stained bottles made from the residue of the disaster in the Ahr Valley became a symbol of willingness to help: 4.5 million euros in donations were collected through "Flutwein" alone. Together with the "SolidAHRität" campaign of the Rhine-Hessian vintner Dirk Würtz, the VDP's "Der Adler hilft" campaign and other appeals for donations, well over seven million euros have now been collected. But half a year after the catastrophe, most of the money is still in the donation accounts: Of all things, it cannot be paid out to the wineries for tax reasons. As a result, winegrowers with destroyed vineyards have been waiting for help for over six months. But now it seems that the problem is finally getting moving.

Frustration at the Ahr vineyards

"We are not allowed to pay out aid to companies," explains Peter Kriechel, Ahr winegrower and one of the initiators of the flood wine campaign. This is because private donations, which are usually tax-deductible, may not be passed on to profit-oriented businesses. Therefore, the association was only able to help about 40 colleagues with emergency aid of 5,000 euros per person, Kriechel reports at the request of wein.plus. But since then, the payment of donations has stopped, and frustration is growing in the Ahr.

45 of the 57 wineries in the once idyllic Ahr valley were directly affected by the flood disaster last July. "We are talking about damage amounts between 500,000 euros and up to ten or even 15 million euros," says Kriechel, who is also chairman of the Ahrwein e.V. winegrowers' association. Wineries such as Nelles, Meyer-Näkel, Bertram, Dagernova or the Mayschoß-Altenahr winegrowers' cooperative - everywhere cellars and entire businesses were buried under masses of mud, tractors and machines were destroyed and buildings were devastated.

Hotels and restaurants, holiday apartment operators and handicraft businesses are also waiting for money from the donation pots. They, too, are not allowed to receive donations. According to the Ministry of Finance, as a non-profit association, aid may only be paid to private individuals, confirms Steffen Christmann, head of the VDP, when asked. The association "Der Adler hilft", founded by VDP members, also wanted to use its donations to close any gaps in the wineries' finances that were not covered by the state or insurance companies. "We want to help in a targeted way," Christmann emphasises - but that is exactly what the fundraisers are not allowed to do at the moment.

Companies are not "needy" under tax law

"We have a web error here," says Christian Senk, managing director of Ahrwein e.V.: "According to the definition, only natural persons are needy. But a vintner is usually a profit-oriented entrepreneur, so not a natural person in the sense of this definition." The consequence: donations are not allowed to flow - if the associations would nevertheless pay out aid money to the winegrowing enterprises, they would have to pay VAT to the tax offices. Up to 19 percent of the donations would then be lost. In addition, there could be further taxes on wine sales. What the winegrowers on the Ahr do not understand: Politicians have been aware of the problem for six months. "Donation law is federal law and therefore uniformly applicable," the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Finance said in response to a question. The problem is "known to the ministry and is currently being discussed".

When asked, it then goes on to say that one strives "for an assessment appropriate to the particular circumstances when assessing sponsoring measures" - what that means remains unclear even after weeks of enquiries. "It simply cannot be that one sees the problem and only checks for months," criticises Senk. The situation in the Ahr valley is an exceptional situation, the state has at least the authority to issue ordinances, and it has to make use of it.

The ministry only says: "What can be regulated administratively has of course been implemented in Rhineland-Palatinate in the interest of those affected. The Ministry of Economics in Mainz also only says that "the issue has been discussed in detail at the political level and the responsible department has been asked to discuss a solution together with the federal government".

"Distribution of donations will not fail because of tax hurdles".

The statement of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Berlin on this in turn reads that it is "an important concern that the money can be quickly disbursed to the winegrowers affected by the flood in the summer of 2021". The distribution "should not and will not fail due to tax hurdles" - there should be "a practicable solution". There is "a close exchange with the responsible state authority".

The CDU opposition in Rhineland-Palatinate was recently furious: "How can it be explained in such exceptional situations that this help does not reach those seeking it because of bureaucratic hurdles," scolded former Federal Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner. Politicians had promised to act in a cross-party and non-bureaucratic manner, she criticised, and warned: "We have to be able to find exceptions for such events to support people on the ground."

Ministry wants to find solutions

Klöckner even addressed letters to the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Economics and even Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) personally on the matter. So far there has been no reply. Now, however, there is apparently finally movement on the matter: since this week, serious talks have finally been going on with the Mainz Ministry of Finance in search of a solution, Kriechel told wein.plus: "In the ministry, they are currently making great efforts to find solutions. That is very motivating."

However, there is still no solution "by law" to make it possible to pay out donations to companies, Kriechel added. In the opinion of the "Flutwein" initiative, the disaster decree of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate would have to be changed: "We are convinced that the state can regulate this in its decree," Kriechel emphasised: "I am still sure that it is possible to find a solution - but at the moment we don't have it yet.

But there is hope that a solution can be found within the next one or two weeks, Kriechel continues: "People are developing ideas, those involved are slowly becoming creative. This could "also be a temporary solution," Senk suggests - only a perspective is needed: "People have helped with a wave of solidarity on an unprecedented scale," he emphasises, "but now the money is lying in the accounts and we can't use it - that can't be it."

(Photos: Peter Kriechel / Flutwein e.V.)

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