Finance Minister Lindner will announce on Thursday what the federal, state and local governments can expect in terms of tax revenue up to the year 2028. It’s already clear: it’s a lot of money. That arouses desires.
Christian Lindner is swimming in money. The state will probably take a trillion euros in taxes next year – i.e. federal, state and local governments. That’s 1000 billion or a million million.
Apparently, this is not a reason for enthusiasm for the Federal Minister of Finance. “Although we take in more than one trillion euros, the income is not even sufficient to finance the previous expenses,” said the FDP minister.
Pistorius, Paus and Lauterbach want more money
And then there are all the special requests from cabinet colleagues. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, for example, who needs a lot more money than he has. “About eight billion will go into further support for Ukraine in the next few years through weapons and much more; with this we are making it clear that we stand by our support for Ukraine in the long term,” said Pistorius.
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach finally wants to tackle a hospital reform – and that will also be expensive: “More and more clinics are making deficits because they can no longer generate income from the flat-rate per case.” The SPD minister promises that he will try to fix the problem. Lauterbach has not yet specified a specific billion amount for this.
Unlike Family Minister Lisa Paus, who is registering around 12 billion euros for the year after next, so that disadvantaged families will not only have enough for the bare essentials: “Because the basic child security system is intended to combat child poverty.” And this is not available for free.
economic Development is the basis of the estimate
And Christian Lindner? He is now having the experts from the “Tax Estimation Working Group” calculate exactly what will come into the cash register this year and in the next four years. The finance ministries of the federal and state governments sit together, the Bundesbank, the Federal Statistical Office and Germany’s leading economists. Because the economic development is the central basis of the tax estimate.
For decades, this meant that tax revenue grew with the economy. Corona and Russia’s attack on Ukraine then caused a significant dent. And then inflation rose – and with the rise in prices, government revenues climbed again in principle. Because with higher prices and wages, more sales and income tax flows.
Lindner: At some point you have to stop with the debt
But: The debts of the past are also becoming more expensive. According to Finance Minister Lindner, interest rates for the state have also risen sharply due to inflation. “Why at some point you have to stop getting into debt to get it under control.” In addition, the lesson must be heeded again: “The state can only distribute what the citizens have previously generated.”
Lindner wants to announce exactly how much it is on Thursday via video link during his stay in Japan. Whether the tax revenue will then be just above or below the magic trillion mark – Lindner will certainly see one thing from this: the state will have to make do with that much money.