I-AG

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ich-AG refers to a sole proprietorship that was founded by an unemployed person who receives a business start-up grant (hereinafter: grant) for this business start-up . The term was coined by the authors of the Hartz concept , but is not official. The concept of the Ich-AG came into force on January 1, 2003 with the “ Hartz II ” legislative package . The grant was an instrument of labor market policy . It should make it easier for unemployed people to start their own business .

The grant will no longer be paid for business start-ups after June 30, 2006. It was replaced by the so-called start - up grant, to which unemployed benefit recipients initially had a legal entitlement if the requirements were met. Since December 29, 2011, the start-up grant is only a discretionary performance . Recipients of unemployment benefit II are no longer entitled to a subsidy from the employment agency. You can apply for an entry fee as a grant comparable to the start-up grant.

Compulsory social security

Statutory pension insurance

Anyone who receives a business start-up grant in accordance with Section 421l SGB ​​III is subject to compulsory insurance in the statutory pension insurance ( Section 2 No. 10 SGB ​​VI ). This does not apply to recipients of the start-up grant according to § 93 SGB ​​III.

The following options are available for setting up a business start-up:

  • Contribution based on the reference value: In 2007 EUR 487.55 per month.
  • Contribution based on half the reference value: In 2007 € 243.78 per month.
  • Income-related contribution: 19.9% ​​of the monthly profit, but at least 79.60 euros.

(Reference value for western Germany in 2007: 2,450 euros / reference value for eastern Germany in 2007: 2,100 euros)

The reference value on which the contribution is based can be reduced against proof.

Health insurance

Recipients of the grant can voluntarily take out statutory health insurance. You can choose whether the membership should also include entitlement to sick pay ( Section 44 (2) No. 3 SGB ​​V ). The contribution is based on one sixtieth of the monthly reference value . In the case of other voluntarily insured self-employed, on the other hand, one thirtieth or one fortieth is assumed ( Section 240 (4) sentence 2 SGB V).

The contribution for insured persons who are also entitled to sickness benefit is calculated as follows:

  • [(Reference value / 60) × 30] × contribution rate
  • That means for 2010: [(2,555 euros / 60) × 30] × 14.90% = 190.35 euros

care insurance

In principle, there is no compulsory insurance in long-term care insurance . Voluntary members of statutory health insurance are, however, obliged to take out long-term care insurance. You can be exempt from this if you are privately insured against the need for long-term care ( Section 20 (3) in conjunction with Section 22 (1) SGB ​​XI . Section 240 SGB ​​V applies accordingly; the minimum monthly contribution to long-term care insurance is around 20 euros ).

unemployment insurance

No compulsory insurance is required for unemployment insurance. Voluntary unemployment insurance has been possible since February 1, 2006. Any remaining entitlement to unemployment benefit expires four years after the entitlement to benefits has arisen ( Section 161 (2) SGB III).

Accident insurance

The compulsory insurance for accident insurance depends on the statutes of the respective insurance carrier.

Taxation of those receiving a business start-up grant

The grant is tax-free according to § 3 No. 2 EStG ; it is also not subject to the progression proviso . The profit from the entrepreneurial activity is attributed to the owner of the sole proprietorship. Depending on the type of self-employed activity, the profit can be allocated to income from business operations or income from self-employed work .

Business income

The profit is determined either by comparing business assets / accounting (in the case of a fully qualified merchant ) or by calculating the income surplus.

Income from self-employment

The profit is usually determined by means of an income statement. Income from self-employed work also includes income as a freelancer .

value added tax

The recipient of a business start-up grant is an entrepreneur within the meaning of § 2 UStG . See also small business regulation in § 19 UStG.

Business tax

The company whose owner receives a grant is subject to trade tax if it runs a business. However, the tax exemption is 24,500 euros for trade income.

Other contributions

IHK contributions

According to § 3 of the Act on the provisional regulation of the right of the Chambers of Commerce are natural persons from the chamber contribution exempt if they are not registered in the commercial register or the register of cooperative societies, and in the last five marketing years preceding Operation Opening neither income from agriculture and forestry , income have earned from commercial operations or income from self-employed work , have held more than a tenth of their shares in a corporation, either directly or indirectly, for the financial year in which the company opened and for the following year from the allocation and the basic contribution as well as for the third and fourth year of exempt from the levy if their commercial income or profit from commercial operations does not exceed 25,000 euros.

Chamber of Crafts contribution

According to § 113 Handwerksordnung , natural persons who have registered a trade for the first time are entitled to the payment of the basic contribution to the Chamber of Crafts and the additional contribution for the year of registration, for the second and third year of the payment of half of the basic contribution and the additional contribution and for the fourth year exempted from paying the additional contribution, insofar as their trade income according to the trade tax law or, insofar as a trade tax assessment amount is not set for the assessment year , their profit from commercial operations determined according to the income tax law does not exceed 25,000 euros.

Historical development

According to the ideas of the Hartz Commission , the term “Ich-AG” expresses the fact that unemployed people can bring their own abilities and skills not only as employees, but above all as self-employed. The idea of ​​the Ich-AG is based on the thesis that there is a “great need for inexpensive services” in Germany. This need can be satisfied by the unemployed “with their everyday practical abilities and skills” - which is already happening in some cases, but mostly in the form of illegal work .

According to the Federal Employment Agency, a small part of the insufficiently prepared start-ups fail after a short time (this also applies to other such small start-ups) because there is not enough need for the caretaker or office services that are typically established. However, the majority of the start-ups still exist or the start-ups were able to switch to employment subject to social insurance contributions.

The Second Law for Modern Services on the Labor Market ( Hartz II ), which came into force on January 1, 2003 and implements an important step in Agenda 2010 , put the concept of the so-called Ich-AG into practice by adding § 421l SGB ​​III created a grant called a start-up grant.

By the end of 2004, around 268,000 I-AGs had received the grant from the Federal Employment Agency.

On June 30, 2006, the I-AG regulation expired. The reason for this was the amalgamation of all instruments for promoting business start-ups for the unemployed as agreed in the coalition agreement.

A study from 2009 showed that around 60 percent of male founders in West and East Germany are still self-employed five years after the start of the program and a further 20 percent have found employment again through the grant; it therefore judges that the abolition came too early.

Alternative start-up support

Employees who end or avoid unemployment by taking up self-employment are entitled to bridging allowance in order to secure their livelihood and social security in the period after starting up a business . This support is particularly suitable for recipients of the relatively high unemployment benefit Alg1. There are also funding programs from the EU (ESF) as well as programs from the federal government ( KfW ) and the federal states, so that comprehensive information can be provided prior to setting up a business, e.g. B. highly recommended by the IHK .

Additional business start-up funding

Unemployed persons capable of work can be paid an entry allowance when they take up employment if this is necessary for integration into the general labor market. The entry allowance is paid as an allowance for unemployment benefit II for a maximum of 24 months. When measuring the amount of the entry fee, the previous duration of unemployment and the size of the benefit community in which the employable needy person lives should be taken into account.

Bad word of the year

The word Ich-AG was named Unwort of the Year in Germany in 2002 by the jury for the language critical action Unwort des Jahres .

Following the predominant understanding of the word, the jury assumed that the word component AG stands as an abbreviation for stock corporation. But since an individual cannot be a stock corporation, the creation of the word is not only ridiculously illogical, but also downgrades human fate to a linguistic stock exchange level. Even as an ironic image, the word is unacceptable, since, in the opinion of the jury, unemployment is hardly compatible with this kind of humor. Ich-AG speak a difficult social and socio-political issue with linguistic cosmetics beautifully .

Ich-AG is sometimes understood as an abbreviation for I-employer . An unemployed person who cannot find an employer becomes his own employer (self-employer) by becoming self-employed.

Web links

Wiktionary: Ich-AG  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Amendment of Section 57 SGB III through Article 1 No. 3 of the Act to Improve Integration Chances on the Labor Market, BGBL. I, page 2854.
  2. ↑ A success at the end of the day . (PDF; 991 kB) IAB short report, start-ups
  3. ^ Study: Ich-AG was abolished too hastily. In: www.wiwo.de. Retrieved September 26, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Unword of the year
  5. ↑ The spread of this understanding of the word is proven by the following Internet sources : fh-aachen.de ( Memento from February 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive ); de.pons.eu ; bildungsklick.de ; neon.de ; hwk-mittelfranken.de ( Memento from May 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive )