Significant tax plus for Saxony-Anhalt: Minister brakes
Created: 05/12/2022Updated: 05/12/2022, 18:20
A woman takes euro banknotes from a small cash box.
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The news sounds good at first: The country is expected to take significantly more taxes than previously planned.
In view of uncertain times, the finance minister warns against euphoria.
Magdeburg - Despite the gloomy economic prospects, Saxony-Anhalt can expect higher tax revenues than previously assumed.
Based on the May tax estimate for the federal, state and local governments, Saxony-Anhalt will receive income of 9.644 billion euros for the current year, as the Ministry of Finance announced on Thursday.
For 2023, 9.876 billion euros are expected.
This means that the expected tax revenue in these years is EUR 548 million or EUR 537 million higher than the figures estimated in November 2021.
Finance Minister Michael Richter (CDU) explained: "Despite all the understandable joy about the expected tax increase, it must not be ignored that the times ahead are characterized by great uncertainty." The effects of the war in in Ukraine on energy and raw material prices, the general price development, the risk of an energy supply freeze and ongoing and worsening supply chain disruptions.
From the minister's point of view, the risks require "prudence and financial policy discipline".
In the current state budget for 2022, there is no leeway for additional spending requests.
"Additional revenue that results from the tax estimate of November 2021 on which the draft budget is based must be used for debt repayment within the framework of the debt brake," emphasized Richter.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the majority of the increased revenue expectations are attributable to sales tax, which is now predicted to be EUR 318 million higher for the current year.
Not included in the tax estimate are the planned relief for the population, for example with a view to the significantly increased energy costs.
This tax shortfall totaled around 22 billion euros this year, Saxony-Anhalt's share was 200 million euros.
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The tax estimators are assuming that the federal, state and local governments will take in EUR 40.4 billion more this year than was expected in November.
As the Federal Ministry of Finance announced in Berlin, the state can expect additional revenue of around 220 billion euros by 2026.
Then the state could post more than one trillion euros in tax revenue for the first time in one year.
dpa