The German government posted black figures again in the first three quarters of 2019, but posted a significantly lower surplus than a year earlier. The revenue exceeded the expenditure by 18.8 billion euros, as the German Federal Statistical Office announced today. A year earlier, the cash surplus had been 32.1 billion euros.
The reason for the decline is that expenditure rose by 5.7 percent more than income by 4.3 percent. The federal government alone generated a surplus of 3.6 billion euros from January to September. The countries even achieved an increase of 17.3 billion euros. The municipalities, on the other hand, reported a deficit of 0.4 billion euros, the social security system a loss of 1.7 billion euros.
Most research institutes predict further declines in surpluses in the coming years. For example, the partial abolition of the solidarity surcharge planned for Germany in 2021 is likely to reduce revenues, while the implementation of the climate package should provide additional expenditure.
