Just as important for the NKR as the creation of transparency regarding legal costs is the reduction of unnecessary bureaucracy. Under the “one in, one out” rule introduced in 2015, every provision that imposes a burden on business (“in”) must be offset by another provision with an alleviating effect (“out”) by the end of the legislative period. The aim of this mechanism is to ensure long-term containment of annual compliance costs.

The “one in, one out” balance for the entire 2021/22 reporting period, which spans the end of the previous legislative period and the start of the current one, is negative. The burdens imposed (“ins”) of around 530 million euros significantly outweigh the savings (“outs”) of only around 125 million euros. The net result is an “in” of approximately 410 million euros. Of this amount, around 270 million euros can be attributed to the period following the parliamentary election. The Federal Government will have to offset this burden with alleviating measures by the end of the current legislative period.