Federal budget trends up to and including October 2020
Table: Trends in the federal budget
Actual 2019
2020 target1
Actual2 January–October 2020
Expenditure (€bn)3
343.2
508.5
334.4
Year-on-year change in % (year to date)
+17.8
Revenue (€bn)4
356.5
290.4
245.3
Year-on-year change in % (year to date)
-12.4
Tax revenue (€bn)
329.0
264.4
222.8
Year-on-year change in % (year to date)
-13.3
Balance of pass-through funds (€bn)
0.0
0.0
0.0
Fiscal balance (€bn)
13.3
-218.1
-89.1
Financing/use of surplus:
-13.3
218.1
89.1
Cash resources (€bn)
-
-
6.5
Seigniorage (€bn)
0.2
0.3
0.2
Movements in reserves5 (€bn)
-13.5
0.0
0.0
Net borrowing6 (€bn)
0.0
217.8
82.4
Any discrepancies in totals are due to rounding.
1 Second supplement to the 2020 federal budget (Federal Law Gazette I No 35, p. 1669).
2 As per accounts.
3 With the exception of expenditure on the repayment of debt incurred on the credit market, allocations to reserves and expenditure made to cover a cash deficit. Excluding expenditure from internal offsetting.
4 With the exception of revenue from loans on the credit market, withdrawals from reserves, revenue from cash surpluses and seigniorage. Excluding revenue from internal offsetting.
5 Negative values denote accumulation of reserves.
6 (-) debt repayment; (+) borrowing
Source: Federal Ministry of Finance
Federal revenue for the period from January to October 2020 totalled approximately €245.3bn, down by 12.4% (approximately €34.8bn) on the year. This decline is due primarily to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated tax-related assistance measures that have been adopted to help manage the crisis. Tax receipts (including transfers of own resources to the EU) declined by 13.3% (roughly €34.2bn) compared with the first ten months of 2019. Receipts from value added taxes as well as from income and corporation tax have been particularly affected, falling by €18.5bn and €12.2bn, respectively.
The category of “other revenue” was down by 2.5% (roughly €0.6bn) on the year in the January–October period. This can be attributed to lower revenue from business activities as well as from claims arising from guarantees.
By adopting two supplementary budgets, the German government has taken decisive action in response to the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic both to health and to the economy. The additional expenditure contained in the supplementary budgets now strongly influences the structure of federal spending. Expenditure in the first ten months of 2020 totalled €334.4bn, up by 17.8% (about €50.4bn) over the same period last year. A breakdown by economic category shows that the spending increase in the January–October period was due primarily to a year-on-year rise of 17.5% (approximately €45.1bn) in consumption spending. Ongoing subsidies to companies made up most of this rise. By the end of October 2020, approximately €14.5bn in immediate assistance for small companies and self-employed individuals affected by the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic had been disbursed, out of the €18.0bn earmarked for this purpose in the second supplementary budget. Of the additional €9.1bn budgeted for 2020 for ongoing grants to social institutions to fight the coronavirus, approximately €5.3bn have been spent. In addition, ongoing grants to public administrations were significantly higher than in the same period of 2019. This category includes roughly €9.0bn in compensation payments under section 21 of the Hospital Financing Act (Krankenhausfinanzierungsgesetz), out of the €11.5bn earmarked for this purpose for 2020. Grants to social security funds were up by €8.8bn (7.9%) on the year. This includes disbursements to the health fund and the long-term care insurance compensation fund totalling €5.3bn, the entire amount earmarked for these funds. The increase in consumption spending was tempered by a decline in interest expenditure, which was down by 59.5% (about €6.9bn) on the year.
Investment spending totalled approximately €31.2bn in the January–October period, an increase of 20.4% (roughly €5.3bn) over the same period last year. This was mainly due to liquidity assistance (totalling roughly €5.6bn so far this year) provided to the Federal Employment Agency. Over the January–October period, the category of grants and subsidies constituting investments was characterised by effects that practically cancelled each other out. On the one hand, grants for the Länder declined by approximately €3.5bn, primarily as a result of the discontinuation of compensation payments from the Federation to the Länder for purposes including social housing. This is part of a reorganisation of financial relations between the federal government and the Länder that took effect at the start of 2020.
Instead of receiving compensation payments, the Länder now receive a higher share of VAT revenue. On the other hand, grants to special funds (for digital infrastructure and the expansion of childcare facilities) increased by a total of €1.4bn, and subsidies to other areas (including federal subsidies towards construction costs for maintaining railway infrastructure) rose by approximately €2.2bn on the year. In the January–October 2020 period, spending on the acquisition of movable assets was 16.6% (about €0.3bn) higher than in the same period last year. Spending on construction projects was slightly down on the year, by 3.5%.
The federal budget recorded a deficit of €89.1bn for the period from January to October 2020.
Revenue and expenditure are subject to strong fluctuations over the course of the fiscal year and thus have an uneven effect on cash funds in individual months. Net borrowing also tends to fluctuate considerably over the course of the year. This means that the fiscal balance at any given point in the year and the corresponding net borrowing figures are not reliable indicators of the end-of-year figures for the fiscal balance and net borrowing. This is especially the case in the current circumstances.
Trends in federal expenditure by function
Trends in federal expenditure by function
General public services
88,153
25.7
98,029
19.3
67,920
72,088
+6.1
Economic cooperation and development
9,994
2.9
12,326
2.4
5,942
6,960
+17.1
Defence
41,944
12.2
45,292
8.9
32,950
34,433
+4.5
Government, central administration
18,561
5.4
20,611
4.1
15,739
16,205
+3.0
Revenue administration
5,115
1.5
5,612
1.1
4,177
4,327
+3.6
Education, science, research, cultural affairs
23,825
6.9
30,316
6.0
16,982
17,601
+3.6
Support for school and university students and training programme participants
3,367
1.0
6,417
1.3
2,567
2,863
+11.5
Science, research and development outside of higher education institutions
13,567
4.0
16,237
3.2
9,088
9,624
+5.9
Social security, family affairs and youth, labour market policy
177,133
51.6
25.5435
50.2
155,039
188,504
+21.6
Social insurance including unemployment insurance
118,997
34.7
132,543
26.1
106,119
115,208
+8.6
of which:
General pension insurance
89,156
26.0
93,047
18.3
80,452
83,937
+4.3
Labour market policy
36,427
10.6
49,180
9.7
30,091
31,855
+5.9
of which:
Basic income support for jobseekers under Book II of the Social Code
20,025
5.8
26,400
5.2
17,012
17,508
+2.9
Government housing and heating allowances under Book II of the Social Code
6,458
1.9
12,400
2.4
5,454
6,504
+19.2
Family assistance, welfare services, etc.
9,252
2.7
10,619
2.1
7,820
8,667
+10.8
Social benefits for the consequences of war and political events
1,902
0.6
1,947
0.4
1,708
1,730
+1.3
Health, environment, sport, recreation
2,967
0.9
25,255
5.0
1,970
16,543
+739.8
Housing, urban development, regional planning and local community services
3,194
0.9
2,576
0.5
2,465
969
-60.7
Housing, home ownership savings premium
2,380
0.7
1,425
0.3
2,147
637
-70.3
Food, agriculture and forestry
1,262
0.4
2,044
0.4
647
605
-6.5
Energy and water management, trade and services
4,026
1.2
15,393
3.0
3,091
4,359
+41.0
Regional support measures
948
0.3
3,071
0.6
511
786
+53.8
Mining, manufacturing and construction
1,211
0.4
2,993
0.6
1,204
2,227
+84.9
Transport and communication
22,243
6.5
28,925
5.7
16,995
16,409
-3.4
Roads
10,888
3.2
10,125
2.0
8,460
6,841
-19.1
Railways and public transport
6,794
2.0
13,927
2.7
4,869
5,690
+16.9
Financial management
20,382
5.9
50,558
9.9
18,877
17,352
-8.1
Interest expenditure and borrowing-related expenditure
12,084
3.5
9,566
1.9
11,533
4,712
-59.1
Total expenditure2
343,186
100.0
508,530
100.0
283,985
334,428
+17.8
1 Second supplement to the 2020 federal budget (Federal Law Gazette I No 35, p. 1669).
2 With the exception of expenditure on the repayment of debt incurred on the credit market, allocations to reserves and expenditure made to cover a cash deficit. Excluding expenditure from internal offsetting.
Source: Federal Ministry of Finance
Actual 2019
2020 target1
Actual
Year-on-year change
(year to date)
January to October 2019
January to October 2020
in €m
share in %
in €m
share in %
in €m
in %
Trends in federal expenditure by economic category
Trends in federal expenditure by economic category
Consumption expenditure
305,120
88.9
439,587
86.4
258,054
303,201
+17.5
Human resources expenditure
34,185
10.0
35,413
7.0
29,178
30,016
+2.9
Salary payments
25,066
7.3
26,237
5.2
21,151
21,988
+4.0
Pensions
9,119
2.7
9,175
1.8
8,027
8,028
+0.0
Operating expenditure
33,135
9.7
39,150
7.7
23,658
25,336
+7.1
Maintenance of immovable property
1,729
0.5
1,637
0.3
1,325
1,337
+0.9
Military procurement
14,098
4.1
17,156
3.4
9,437
10,605
+12.4
Other
17,308
5.0
20,357
4.0
12,896
13,394
+3.9
Interest expenditure
11,911
3.5
9,557
1.9
11,524
4,668
-59.5
Ongoing grants and subsidies
224,963
65.6
353,997
69.6
192,808
242,167
+25.6
to public administrations
27,739
8.1
79,516
15.6
24,123
40,849
+69.3
to other areas
197,224
57.5
274,480
54.0
168,686
201,318
+19.3
of which:
Companies
29,955
8.7
77,473
15.2
23,797
39,461
+65.8
Pensions, benefits, etc.
29,150
8.5
36,588
7.2
24,845
26,054
+4.9
Social security funds
125,225
36.5
134,322
26.4
110,882
119,697
+7.9
Other asset transfers
926
0.3
1,471
0.3
885
1,014
+14.6
Investment expenditure
38,066
11.1
71,286
14.0
25,932
31,227
+20.4
Financial assistance
26,882
7.8
56,492
11.1
17,731
23,166
+30.7
Grants and subsidies
25,315
7.4
33,782
6.6
16,808
16,994
+1.1
Loans, guarantees
794
0.2
16,585
3.3
532
6,163
+1,058.5
Acquisition of holdings; capital contributions
774
0.2
6,125
1.2
391
9
-97.7
Fixed asset investment
11,183
3.3
14,794
2.9
8,200
8,061
-1.7
Construction projects
8,095
2.4
8,904
1.8
6,031
5,821
-3.5
Acquisition of movable assets
2,281
0.7
5,128
1.0
1,558
1,816
+16.6
Acquisition of real property
807
0.2
761
0.1
611
424
-30.6
General reduction/increase in expenditure
0
0.0
-2,344
-0.5
0
0
X
Total expenditure2
343,186
100.0
508,530
100.0
283,985
334,428
+17.8
1 Second supplement to the 2020 federal budget (Federal Law Gazette I No 35, p. 1669).
2 With the exception of expenditure on the repayment of debt incurred on the credit market, allocations to reserves and expenditure made to cover a cash deficit. Excluding expenditure from internal offsetting.
Source: Federal Ministry of Finance
Actual 2019
2020 target1
Actual
Year-on-year change
(year to date)
January to October 2019
January to October 2020
in €m
share in %
in €m
share in %
in €m
in %
Trends in federal revenue
Trends in federal revenue
Tax revenue
328,989
92.3
264,446
91.1
257,003
222,759
-13.3
Federal share of joint taxes:
271,275
76.1
221,000
76.1
216,425
185,501
-14.3
Income tax and corporation tax
(incl. final withholding tax on interest and capital gains)
150,384
42.2
133,108
45.8
117,021
104,851
-10.4
of which:
Wages tax
93,311
26.2
90,206
31.1
72,546
67,699
-6.7
Assessed income tax
27,078
7.6
20,230
7.0
20,018
18,104
-9.6
Non-assessed tax on earnings
11,724
3.3
10,500
3.6
10,208
8,476
-17.0
Final withholding tax on interest and capital gains
2,264
0.6
2,772
1.0
1,878
2,413
+28.5
Corporation tax
16,007
4.5
9,400
3.2
12,371
8,160
-34.0
Value added taxes
118,944
33.4
86,380
29.7
98,067
79,569
-18.9
Trade tax apportionment paid to Federation and Länder
1,947
0.5
1,512
0.5
1,337
1,081
-19.1
Energy duty
40,683
11.4
34,600
11.9
28,838
26,352
-8.6
Tobacco duty
14,257
4.0
14,350
4.9
11,434
11,603
+1.5
Solidarity surcharge
19,646
5.5
17,700
6.1
15,598
14,574
-6.6
Insurance tax
14,136
4.0
14,580
5.0
12,524
12,873
+2.8
Electricity duty
6,689
1.9
5,990
2.1
5,524
5,437
-1.6
Motor vehicle tax
9,372
2.6
9,495
3.3
8,049
8,181
+1.6
Alcohol duty including alcopops duty
2,119
0.6
2,115
0.7
1,747
1,701
-2.6
Coffee duty
1,060
0.3
1,035
0.4
857
853
-0.5
Aviation tax
1,182
0.3
300
0.1
948
249
-73.7
Sparkling wine duty and intermediate products duty
403
0.1
390
0.1
336
323
-3.9
Other taxes accruing to the Federation
2
0.0
1
0.0
2
1
-50.0
Deductions
Consolidation assistance for the Länder
800
X
1,067
X
800
1,067
+33.4
Supplementary grants to Länder
7,555
X
8,674
X
5,820
6,530
+12.2
EU own resources (GNI-based)
23,317
X
26,720
X
22,307
18,392
-17.6
EU own resources (VAT-based)
2,520
X
2,700
X
2,399
2,191
-8.7
Grants to Länder for public transport
8,651
X
8,957
X
7,209
9,964
+38.2
Grants to Länder for motor vehicle tax and HGV toll
8,992
X
8,992
X
6,744
6,744
+0.0
Other revenue
27,502
7.7
25,980
8.9
23,142
22,566
-2.5
Revenue from economic activity
6,376
1.8
6,699
2.3
5,920
5,677
-4.1
Interest revenue
309
0.1
262
0.1
226
278
+23.0
Loan repayments, holdings, privatisation proceeds
2,026
0.6
1,379
0.5
1,519
917
-39.6
Total revenue2
356,492
100.0
290,426
100.0
280,144
245,326
-12.4
1 Second supplement to the 2020 federal budget (Federal Law Gazette I No 35, p. 1669).
2 With the exception of revenue from loans on the credit market, withdrawals from reserves, revenue from cash surpluses and seigniorage. Excluding revenue from internal offsetting.
Source: Federal Ministry of Finance
2020 trends in tax revenue (excluding local authority taxes)
2020 trends in tax revenue (excluding local authority taxes)1
2019
October
Year-on-year
change
January to October
Year-on-year change
2020 estimates4
Year-on-year
change
in €m
in %
in €m
in %
in €m
in %
Joint taxes
Wages tax2
14,587
-10.6
166,206
-5.2
208,350
-5.1
Assessed income tax
-234
X
42,602
-9.6
58,050
-8.9
Non-assessed taxes on earnings
1,259
+24.2
17,136
-16.4
19,950
-15.1
Final withholding tax on interest and capital gains
(including the former withholding tax on interest income)
366
-10.3
5,484
+28.5
6,450
+25.3
Corporation tax
67
X
16,320
-34.0
21,100
-34.1
Value added taxes
17,605
-9.3
181,746
-9.1
218,750
-10.1
Trade tax apportionment paid to Federation and Länder
734
-18.3
2,830
-19.1
3,762
-20.0
Increased trade tax apportionment
22
-97.1
134
-94.8
0
X
Total joint taxes
34,405
-10.9
432,459
-9.5
536,412
-9.9
Taxes accruing to the Federation
Energy duty
3,283
-7.1
26,352
-8.6
37,700
-7.3
Tobacco duty
1,439
-14.5
11,603
+1.5
14,360
+0.7
Alcohol duty
167
+0.1
1,690
-3.2
2,050
-3.2
Insurance tax
685
+2.3
12,873
+2.8
14,520
+2.7
Electricity duty
644
+11.0
5,437
-1.6
6,550
-2.1
Motor vehicle tax
755
+6.1
8,181
+1.6
9,500
+1.4
Aviation tax
23
-79.3
249
-73.7
270
-77.2
Solidarity surcharge
1,044
+0.6
14,574
-6.6
18,400
-6.3
Other taxes accruing to the Federation
134
+17.1
1,187
-0.7
1,442
-1.7
Total taxes accruing to the Federation
8,174
-5.0
82,145
-4.3
104,792
-4.3
Taxes accruing to the Länder
Inheritance tax
737
+29.8
7,133
+23.9
8,500
+21.7
Real property transfer tax
1,373
-3.1
13,193
+1.6
15,700
-0.6
Betting and lottery tax
185
+24.7
1,661
+1.6
2,000
+1.3
Beer duty
62
+16.5
467
-10.8
540
-12.5
Other taxes accruing to the Länder
27
+2.2
444
+6.2
510
+5.8
Total taxes accruing to the Länder
2,383
+7.7
22,900
+7.4
27,250
+5.4
EU own resources
Customs duties
491
+17.0
3,967
-6.1
4,650
-8.6
EU own resources (VAT-based)
217
+3.9
2,191
-4.5
2,480
-1.6
EU own resources (GNI-based)
1,993
+1.0
18,392
-15.0
25,620
+9.9
Total EU own resources
2,702
+3.8
24,551
-12.8
32,750
+5.9
Federation3
17,778
-18.4
224,461
-13.2
278,730
-15.3
Länder3
21,960
-1.5
253,108
-3.3
311,849
-3.9
EU
2,702
+3.8
24,551
-12.8
32,750
+5.9
Local authorities’ share of income tax and value added tax
3,014
-4.7
39,351
-3.5
49,775
-3.1
Total tax revenue (excluding local authority taxes)
45,454
-8.8
541,471
-8.1
673,104
-8.5
1 Methodology: Total cash income from the various taxes is recorded and allocated to the various government levels as stipulated by law. Tax amounts actually received in the current month by individual government levels may differ from the target amounts for technical reasons.
2 After deduction of child benefit refunds by the Federal Central Tax Office.
3 After supplementary grants; any discrepancies with the table on trends in federal revenue are due to the methodology used (see footnote 1).
4 Results of the Working Party on Tax Revenue Estimates of November 2020.
Source: Federal Ministry of Finance
Total tax revenue (excluding local authority taxes) was down by 8.8% in October 2020 compared with the same month last year. The economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic continued to have a negative impact on tax revenue. As in previous months, virus-related measures taken on the basis of secondary legislation also affected tax revenue. In October, incoming payments of previously deferred taxes exceeded the amount of newly granted deferrals, and this had a positive impact on revenue. As in the previous month, statutory measures to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and to stimulate the economy led to considerable revenue losses in October. Two measures adopted as part of the Second Coronavirus Tax Assistance Act (Zweites Corona-Steuerhilfegesetz) played a particularly important role in this respect: First, the temporary cuts in VAT rates in the second half of 2020 led to a decline in VAT receipts. Second, the disbursement of the second (€100) instalments of a one-time bonus for families with children – which is financed from wages tax receipts – contributed significantly to a large decline in wages tax revenue in October.
In October 2020, receipts from joint taxes were down by 10.9% on the year. Revenue from taxes accruing solely to the Federation declined by 5.0%. In contrast, receipts from taxes accruing solely to the Länder was up by 7.7% on the year due to a sharp increase in receipts from inheritance tax.
Transfers of own resources to the EU, including customs duties, totalled approximately €2.7bn in September 2020, up from €2.6bn in October 2019 (a year-on-year rise of 3.8%). Monthly fluctuations occur over the course of the year based on the EU’s financing needs at any given time. However, monthly requisitions are generally in line with the financial framework for the current year.
In the first ten months of 2020, total tax receipts fell by 8.1% on the year. Revenue from joint taxes declined by 9.5%, and revenue from taxes accruing solely to the Federation was down by 4.3%. Revenue from taxes accruing solely to the Länder posted a gain of 7.4%.
Distribution among the Federation, Länder and local authorities
The Federation’s tax receipts (after accounting for supplementary federal grants to the Länder) fell by 18.4% on the year in October 2020. The Federation’s take from joint taxes declined by 19.5%. An amendment of the Financial Equalisation Act (Finanzausgleichsgesetz) under the Second Coronavirus Tax Assistance Act reduced the Federation’s share of revenue from value added taxes and increased the shares of the Länder and local authorities accordingly. The purpose of this was to compensate the Länder for their lower tax revenue resulting from (a) the one-time bonus for families with children, which is financed from wages tax revenue, and (b) the temporary reduction in the VAT rate. The reduction in the VAT rate caused revenue from value added taxes to fall significantly overall in October. In the end, the Federation’s take from VAT revenue in October was down by 28.6% on the year. Receipts from taxes accruing solely to the Federation fell by 5.0%. Moreover, supplementary federal grants to the Länder were up on the year, and own resources payments to the EU were significantly higher than in October 2019.
Länder tax receipts were down only slightly, by 1.5% on the year, due to the reallocation of VAT revenue described above, which led to an 8.4% increase in the VAT revenue received by the Länder. However, the fall in wages tax receipts (which is due to the short-time work scheme and the one-time bonus for families with children) and the discontinuation of the increased trade tax apportionment both significantly reduced Länder tax revenues. Overall, Länder receipts from joint taxes declined by 3.6%. The yield from taxes accruing solely to the Länder was up markedly on the year, by 7.7%. The revenue from joint taxes allocated to local authorities was down by 4.7% on the year.
Cash receipts from wages tax posted a marked decline in October. Gross wages tax revenue actually recorded a slight year-on-year rise of 0.3%, despite companies’ ongoing use of the short-time work scheme. The primary reason for the sharp decline in cash receipts from wages tax (down by 10.6% on the year in October) was the increase in child benefit, which is financed from wages tax revenue. Child benefit payments surged by 49.1% on the year in October due to the disbursement of the second instalment of €100 of a one-time bonus for families with children (the first instalment of €200 was paid in September). In cumulative terms, cash receipts from wages tax were down by 5.2% on the year in the first ten months of 2020.
Gross revenue from corporation tax amounted to approximately €67m in October, generally a low-revenue month for this tax. In October 2019, there were refunds totalling €144m, meaning that this month’s result represents a slight increase on the year. Investment allowance payments hardly affected the overall result due to their low volume. Thus, cash receipts from corporation tax also amounted to approximately €67m. Cumulatively, cash receipts from corporation tax fell by 34.0% on the year in the first ten months of 2020.
As with corporation tax, gross receipts from assessed income tax in October were determined mainly by assessment activity. Gross receipts from this tax declined to approximately €0.9bn, a drop of 24.4% on the year. Employee refunds were down by 7.2% on the year in October 2020. After these are subtracted from the gross figure (along with investment allowance payments and owner-occupied homes premiums, which are insignificant in terms of amount), receipts from assessed income tax stood at approximately ‑€234m in October 2020 (compared with ‑€32m in October 2019). In cumulative terms, cash receipts from assessed income tax were down by 9.6% on the year in the January–October period.
October 2020 saw a 28.6% year-on-year rise in gross receipts from non-assessed taxes on earnings. Refunds by the Federal Central Tax Office, which are financed from this revenue, totalled about €196m. As a result, cash receipts from non-assessed taxes on earnings were up by 24.2% in year-on-year terms. Cumulatively, cash receipts from non-assessed taxes on earnings fell by 16.4% on the year in the first ten months of 2020.
Final withholding tax on interest and capital gains
Revenue from final withholding tax on interest and capital gains fell by 10.3% on the year in October 2020. So far this year, monthly revenue from this tax has fluctuated significantly, as economic trends have apparently led investors to realise gains from their investments in securities. Cumulative cash receipts from final withholding tax on interest and capital gains recorded a year-on-year rise of 28.5% in the January–October 2020 period.
Receipts from value added taxes fell by 9.3% on the year in October, with declining receipts from both domestic VAT (down by 4.8%) and import VAT (down by 22.3%). This was a result of the temporary cuts in VAT rates in the second half of 2020, which showed up for the first time on government accounts in September. The resulting decline in revenue was only partially offset by the positive balance between newly granted deferrals and payments of deferred taxes that fell due. Cumulative cash receipts from value added taxes fell by 9.1% on the year in the January–October period.
In October 2020, revenue from taxes accruing solely to the Federation was down by 5.0% compared with the same month last year. In the case of some taxes, the tax measures that were introduced to improve the liquidity of companies resulted in a decline in revenue. October saw revenue gains for electricity duty (up by 11.0%), insurance tax (up by 2.3%) and motor vehicle tax (up by 6.1%). Receipts from energy duty and tobacco duty fell by 7.1% and 14.5%, respectively. Global air traffic came to an almost complete halt as a result of the shutdown in spring 2020. This, in combination with tax deferrals, caused aviation tax revenue to plummet by 79.3% on the year in October. Receipts from this tax recovered only slightly when restrictions were eased in the summer. Revenue from the solidarity surcharge recorded a slight rise of 0.6% as a result of higher receipts from income tax and corporation tax (which constitute its tax base). Trends in revenue from other taxes had only a minor impact on overall receipts from federal taxes. The cumulative take from federal taxes fell by 4.3% on the year in the first ten months of 2020.
Receipts from taxes accruing solely to the Länder were up by 7.7% on the year in October 2020. This was driven primarily by a significant increase in revenue from inheritance tax, which was up by 29.8%. Revenue gains were also recorded for beer duty (up by 16.5%), betting and lottery tax (up by 24.7%) and fire protection tax (up by 2.2%). Real property transfer tax posted a slight revenue decline of 3.1%. Cumulative receipts from Länder taxes rose by 7.4% on the year in the January–October 2020 period.
Borrowing trends for the Federation in October 2020
Borrowing trends for the Federation in October 2020
in €m
Debt level
Borrowing (increase)
Debt repayment (decrease)
Debt level
Change in debt level (balance)
Interest
30 September 2020
October
October
31 October 2020
October
October
Total
1,282,557
27,161
-31,035
1,278,683
-3,874
770
broken down by purpose
Federal budget
1,185,060
20,966
-31,035
1,174,991
-10,069
590
Financial Market Stabilisation Fund (loans for expenses pursuant to section 9 (1) of the Stabilisation Fund Act (Stabilisierungsfondsgesetz))
22,653
79
-
22,733
79
-
Financial Market Stabilisation Fund (loans for resolution authorities pursuant to section 9 (5) of the Stabilisation Fund Act)
30,000
-
-
30,000
-
-
Investment and Redemption Fund
15,885
150
-
16,035
-
-
Economic Stabilisation Fund (loans for recapitalisation measures pursuant to section 22 of the Stabilisation Fund Act)
1,427
216
-
1,642
216
-
Economic Stabilisation Fund (loans for KfW pursuant to section 23 of the Stabilisation Fund Act)
27,532
5,750
-
33,282
5,750
181
broken down by debt type
Conventional federal securities
1,208,430
26,167
-31,035
1,203,562
-4,868
561
30-year federal bonds
250,278
1,024
-
251,302
1,024
17
10-year federal bonds
540,010
6,081
-
546,091
6,081
368
Federal notes
191,388
3,739
-19,000
176,127
-15,261
93
Federal Treasury notes
99,276
4,169
-
103,445
4,169
59
Treasury discount papers issued by the Federation
127,478
11,154
-12,035
126,597
-881
25
Inflation-linked federal securities
57,144
694
-
57,838
694
193
30-year inflation-linked federal bonds
9,085
226
-
9,311
226
102
10-year inflation-linked federal bonds
48,059
468
-
48,527
468
91
Green federal securities
6,050
300
-
6,350
300
18
Other federal securities
-
-
-
-
-
-
Securitised loans
6,460
-
-
6,460
-
-1
Other loans and ordinary debts
4,474
-
-
4,474
-
-
Source: Federal Ministry of Finance
Debt trends for the federal budget and the Federation’s special funds October 2020
Debt trends for the federal budget and the Federation’s special funds October 2020
in €m
Total
1,225,025
21,411
-31,035
1,215,401
-9,624
590
broken down by purpose
Federal budget
1,185,060
20,966
-31,035
1,174,991
-10,069
590
Financial Market Sta bilisation Fund (loans for expenses pursuant to section 9 (1) of the Stabilisation Fund Act (Stabilisierungsfondsgesetz))
22,653
79
-
22,733
79
-
Investment and Redemption Fund
15,885
150
-
16,035
150
-
Economic Stabilisation Fund (loans for recapitalisation measures pursuant to section 22 of the Stabilisation Fund Act)
1,427
216
-
1,642
216
-
broken down by debt type
-
-
-
-
-
-
Conventional federal securities
1,150,898
20,417
-31,035
1,140,280
-10,618
380
30-year federal bonds
250,278
1,024
-
251,302
1,024
17
10-year federal bonds
523,510
5,081
-
528,591
5,081
316
Federal notes
170,988
1,239
-19,000
153,227
-17,761
-2
Federal Treasury notes
84,276
1,919
-
86,195
1,919
24
Treasury discount papers issued by the Federation
121,846
11,154
-12,035
120,965
-881
25
Inflation-linked federal securities
57,144
694
-
57,838
694
193
30-year inflation-linked federal bonds
9,085
226
-
9,311
226
102
10-year inflation-linked federal bonds
48,059
468
-
48,527
468
91
Green federal securities
6,050
300
-
6,350
300
18
Other federal securities
-
-
-
-
-
-
Securitised loans
6,460
-
-
6,460
-
-1
Other loans and ordinary debts
4,474
-
-
4,474
-
-
Additional information
Liabilities from the indexing of inflation-linked federal securities1
3,737
3,515
-222
-
Reserves in accordance with the Final Payment Financing Act (Schlusszahlungsfinanzierungsgesetz)2
3,490
3,529
39
-
1 Liabilities resulting from indexing include the amount by which the original issuance price has increased due to inflation between the start date and the specified reference date.
2 In contrast, reserves include only the increases that are noted on coupon payment dates (15 April of every year) (section 4 (1) of the Final Payment Financing Act) and on reopening dates for inflation-linked securities (section 4 (2) of the Final Payment Financing Act).
Any discrepancies in totals are due to rounding.
Source: Federal Ministry of Finance
Debt level
Borrowing (increase)
Debt repayment (decrease)
Debt level
Change in debt level (balance)
Interest
30 September 2020
October
October
31 October 2020
October
October
Trends in refinancing the special funds that provide loans to federal public institutions in October 2020
Trends in refinancing the special funds that provide loans to federal public institutions in October 2020
in €m
Debt level
Borrowing
(increase)
Debt repayment
(decrease)
Debt level
Change in debt level
(balance)
Interest
30 September 2020
October
October
31 October 2020
October
October
Total
57,532
5,750
-
63,282
5,750
181
broken down by purpose
Financial Market Stabilisation Fund (loans for resolution authorities pursuant to section 9 (5) of the Stabilisation Fund Act (Stabilisierungsfondsgesetz))1
30,000
-
-
30,000
-
-
Economic Stabilisation Fund (loans for KfW pursuant to section 23 of the Stabilisation Fund Act)
27,532
5,750
-
33,282
5,750
181
1Under section 9 (5) of the Financial Market Stabilisation Fund Act, the Federal Ministry of Finance is empowered to borrow up to €30bn for the Financial Market Stabilisation Fund so that the Fund can grant loans to resolution authorities for the purpose of refinancing (as per section 8 (10) of the Financial Market Stabilisation Fund Act) assets that they have taken over. Such borrowing is neutral overall in terms of debt, because it replaces the funds that resolution authorities would otherwise have to borrow on the market. However, it does increase the debt level in federal securities.
Source: Federal Ministry of Finance
Guarantees
Authorised amount
Amount allocated
as of
30 September 2020
Amount allocated
as of
30 September 2019
in €bn
Export credit guarantees
160.0
125.6
119.0
Loans to foreign debtors, foreign direct investment, EIB loans
