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Chairs in a closed pub in Cologne (archive): High expenses for Corona aid
Photo:
Oliver Berg / dpa
The federal and state governments also received significantly fewer taxes in November.
"The economic effects of the corona crisis continued to burden tax revenue," says the current monthly report from the Federal Ministry of Finance.
The tax revenue fell accordingly by seven percent to 47.5 billion euros.
In the period from January to November 2020, the tax deficit totaled eight percent - with revenues of 589 billion euros.
Income from wage tax fell in November by 5.7 percent within a year.
"The increase in the number of short-time working due to the partial lockdown also contributed to this."
In the first eleven months, the federal budget showed a financing deficit of 133.6 billion euros.
Because in addition to the lower income, the Corona aid is also reflected in significantly higher expenses.
However, because of the low interest rates, the federal government is saving elsewhere: Interest expenditure up to and including November was EUR 4.9 billion, around 59 percent below the same period last year.
Further decline expected due to December lockdown
In addition: Because of the negative interest rates, investors had to pay a lot in 2020 when they lent money to Germany.
In other words, the federal government still earns money when it goes into debt.
By the beginning of December, seven billion euros had been raised.
Economists argue about whether this always makes sense, because in the long term the liabilities can possibly narrow the scope of action of the state.
Despite the strong catching up of the economy in the summer quarter and the record growth of 8.5 percent, the Ministry of Finance sees risks for further development that threaten the December closings.
"Due to the current pandemic and the necessary containment measures, a significantly weaker economic development can be expected for the final quarter," wrote the ministry experts.
Many economists expect GDP to decline at the end of 2020 due to the lockdown.
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