In some countries, social enterprises are registered or organized in special legal forms, and thereby acquire a special status. This is not yet the case in Germany. Increasingly, however, entrepreneurs and foundations in Germany are looking for ways to translate commercial activities directly into social projects.
Social enterprises
In her report Prof. Weitemeyer examines the legal and tax framework for social enterprise in Germany.
The criticism is often made that the existing legal structures for social entrepreneurs and other sustainably operating enterprises between the market and the third sector, as well as the current non-profit law, are not sufficiently oriented towards their needs. There is a demand for greater flexibility pursuing dual purposes (for-profit and not-for-profit), the possibility of partial profit distribution, as well as the measurability and visibility of their own social successes in relation to the public through further certifications and special legal structures.
the legal basis for social enterprises
Therefore, the current government coalition consisting of SPD, FDP and the Greens has undertaken to improve the legal basis for social enterprises. The results of the international resaerch project may help to implement further reform in Germany.
- Prof. B. Weitemeyer: The Social Enterprise: A New Form of the Business Enterprise?, in: Martin Schmidt-Kessel (Hrsg.), German National Reports on the 21st International Congress of Comparative Law, Tübingen 2022, S. 289-314, national report about „The social enterprise – a new form of business enterprise“, for the congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law in October 2022 in Asunción, Paraguay.
