Germany: Tax revenues rose to 176.5 billion euros during H1

The German Federal Government’s tax revenues rose slightly in the first half of 2024, compared to the same period last year.

According to the monthly report of the German Ministry of Finance, tax revenues amounted to 176.5 billion euros, an increase of 4.6% or 7.8 billion euros over the first half of 2023.

In addition, the German government received about 20 billion euros from other revenues, such as interest income, toll payments and revenues from the sale of contributions. Meanwhile, government spending fell by 4% thanks to falling interest rates.

On the other hand, the German government was forced to increase its expenditures on social benefits and pension insurance increases in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2023.

According to the report, the federal government’s budget recorded a financing deficit of 23.6 billion euros at the end of last June.

Income and expenses are usually subject to strong fluctuations throughout the financial year, so no conclusion can be drawn from this for the final account.

The federal government intends to take on another 11.3 billion euros of additional debt in the supplementary budget, which aims to balance the growing needs for social benefits. In light of the weak economy, the federal government has the right to borrow even with the principle of debt control in effect.