The city of Mainz expects to become debt-free for the first time in three decades thanks to the tax revenues generated by the global success of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.
Mainz's decision to use its windfall to slash corporate tax rates in the hope of attracting industry is drawing criticism from nearby cities and economists.
The city of 217,000 inhabitants in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate has been carrying a huge debt burden since the early 90s. The Rhine river city had a debt pile of 30m in the first year of the epidemic.
The statue of Johannes Gutenberg is in the city centre. Ronald Wittek is the photographer.
The success of BioNTech, which was founded by Uur ahin and zlem Treci, has changed Mainz's fortunes.
The city senate this winter announced a budget surplus of over one billion dollars, instead of the projected overspend of 36m. Mainz hopes to clear its remaining debt within a year with another surplus.
Mainz's senate calls the city's "Cinderella story" because it has not been officially named as the source. The company that created the first vaccine in the west has a lot of money. In the first nine months of the year, BioNTech made 10.3 billion in pre-tax profits, of which it paid 3 billion in tax, but the company has not said where the money went.
The printing press in Mainz was the main gift to the world before the Covid-19 epidemic.
The Mayor of Mainz, Michael Ebling, said that the development of BioNTech's vaccine was equally important. He told the Guardian that he wanted to use the tax money to settle the debts of his city. Christmas may be upon us, but for the city of Mainz now is not the time to make long wishlists. The tax windfall will make it easier to honor the other achievements that our city has given to the world.
The mayor said he would nourish Mainz's reputation as an innovator in football, as well as promoting its role in the printing revolution. The Gutenberg museum of printing can be renovated, and the football pitches will remain in a state that every player can play a clean pass.
A fan at a match. The club will benefit from the windfall. Alex Grimm is a photographer.
A 30-acre plot near the headquarters of BioNTech and the German Cancer Research Centre is earmarked for development as part of Ebling's plan to turn Mainz into a global biotech hub.
The city hopes to create 5,000 new jobs over the next 10 years, in part by attracting companies through lower corporate tax rates, which German municipalities are able to set themselves on top of the federal corporate tax rate of 3.5%. The corporate tax rate in Mainz will be cut from 440 to 310 percentage points, making it the lowest among German cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants.
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Uur ahin and zlem Treci are a German dream team.
The dream team behind the vaccine isugur-sahin-and-ozlem-tureci-german.
The senate says the cut is a gift to smaller companies that have suffered during the Pandemic. The reduced tax rate was not intended to stop BioNTech from moving.
Local politicians in Mainz have criticized the city for being lacking in solidarity, while economists predicted that the move could lead to a race to the bottom among German cities.
The professor of public management at the Technical University of Applied Sciences in Wildau said that he would share local politicians' criticism of the extent to which they are slashing the tax rate. It is a bit of a bombshell.
He questioned whether the plan would pay dividends, as it would create enormous pressure on other cities to follow suit. He said that a low tax rate was not as important as proximity to research institutions or companies in the same field when choosing a headquarters.
