By clicking on “Agree”, you enable us to gather statistical information that will help us better understand how visitors use our website.
This is done
✓ anonymously and without collecting personal data,
✓ without cookies,
✓ on servers in Germany
✓ and without any data being transmitted to third parties.
You can also revoke your consent at any time on our
Privacy policy page.
Any discrepancies in totals are due to rounding. ¹ Supplementary budget pursuant to the Act Adopting a Supplement to the Federal Budget for the 2021 Fiscal Year (Gesetz über die Feststellung eines Nachtrags zum Bundeshaushaltsplan für das Haushaltsjahr 2021) of 3 June 2021 (Federal Law Gazette I No 29, p. 1410). 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 2021 totalled approximately €255.2bn, up by 4.0% (about €9.9bn) on the year, but still about €24.9bn below the figure for the same period in 2019. Tax receipts (taking into account transfers of own resources to the EU) in the first 10 months of the year were up by 6.2% (about €13.8bn) on the year. Revenue from income tax and corporation tax rose by 13.7% (about €14.4bn), while the yield from value added taxes increased by 16.2% (about €12.9bn) on the year. Revenue from the solidarity surcharge was down by 42.0% (about €6.1bn), largely due to the abolition this year of the solidarity surcharge for approximately 90% of wages tax and income tax payers. Tax revenue growth was also tempered by the trend in payments to the EU (GNI-based own resources and VAT-based own resources), which were up by about €8.9bn on the year.
The category of “other revenue” was down by 17.3% (about €3.9bn) on the year in the January–October period. This was mainly due to the fact that the Federation’s share (€2.5bn) of the Bundesbank’s net profits was not remitted. Fines collected by the Federal Cartel Office were also down by about €0.8bn on the year. Furthermore, the figures for the period reflect the absence of dividend payments by Deutsche Bahn. In 2020, Deutsche Bahn paid the Federation a dividend of €650m.
Measures to counteract the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects are having a significant impact on budget execution in 2021. Federal expenditure in the first 10 months of 2021 totalled approximately €401.3bn, up by 20.0% (about €66.9bn) on the year. A breakdown by economic category shows that higher spending in the January–October period was driven mainly by consumption spending, which was up by 17.8% (about €53.8bn). Ongoing grants to social security funds and subsidies to businesses made up most of this rise. Subsidies to businesses climbed by 48.9% (about €19.3bn) on the year. Most of this increase consisted of assistance to businesses affected by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. About €33.5bn of the funds earmarked for this purpose were disbursed by 30 October 2021. Grants to social security funds were up by 15.8% (about €19.0bn) on the year. This includes a €12.9bn year-on-year increase in disbursements to the health fund to cover pandemic-related costs. These grants also include €3.0bn in disbursements to the health fund’s liquidity reserves for a programme to future-proof hospitals, which was established this year; this is the full amount that was budgeted for this purpose.
Investment spending in the first 10 months of 2021 totalled €44.3bn, an increase of 41.9% (about €13.1bn) over the same period last year. The main factor driving this increase was liquidity assistance provided to the Federal Employment Agency, which was booked in the form of loans and increased by approximately €11.8bn on the year. In contrast, fixed asset investment was down by 46.8% (about €3,8bn) due to a decline in spending on construction projects. The year-on-year decline in construction spending is due mainly to a special factor that will affect the entire year: since the beginning of 2021, investments in trunk road construction have been outsourced to Autobahn GmbH des Bundes (Federal Autobahn GmbH). The necessary funds are being provided to Autobahn GmbH des Bundes in the form of investment grants, which rose by approximately €2.9bn on the year in October 2021. Approximately €5.5bn has been earmarked for these investment grants in 2021. As a result, about €4.7bn less has been budgeted for construction investment in 2021 than in 2020 (and about €4.2bn less than the amount that was actually spent on construction investment in 2020).
The federal budget recorded a deficit of €146.1bn for the period from January to October 2021.
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.
Trends in federal expenditure by function
Trends in federal expenditure by function
General public services
95,479
21.6
103,911
19.0
72,088
75,578
+4.8
Economic cooperation and development
12,127
2.7
12,324
2.3
6,960
7,594
+9.1
Defence
45,471
10.3
47,019
8.6
34,433
35,807
+4.0
Government, central administration
19,199
4.3
22,707
4.1
16,205
17,309
+6.8
Revenue administration
5,342
1.2
5,922
1.1
4,327
4,772
+10.3
Education, science, research, cultural affairs
28,645
6.5
31,829
5.8
17,601
19,522
+10.9
Support for school and university students and training programme participants
6,045
1.4
5,182
0.9
2,863
4,182
+46.1
Science, research and development outside of higher education institutions
15,236
3.4
18,207
3.3
9,624
10,055
+4.5
Social security, family affairs and youth, labour market policy
218,365
49.4
284,649
52.0
188,504
241,136
+27.9
Social security funds including unemployment insurance
129,829
29.4
134,149
24.5
115,208
133,681
+16.0
of which:
General pension insurance
93,004
21.1
97,401
17.8
83,937
87,871
+4.7
Health insurance
15,884
3.6
19,010
3.5
13,160
16,071
+22.1
Unemployment insurance
6,913
1.6
3,350
0.6
5,617
17,385
+209.5
Labour market policy
40,876
9.3
45,360
8.3
31,855
35,118
+10.2
of which:
Basic income support for jobseekers under Book II of the Social Code
20,658
4.7
23,700
4.3
17,508
18,614
+6.3
Government housing and heating allowances under Book II of the Social Code
10,097
2.3
11,200
2.0
6,504
8,555
+31.5
Family assistance, welfare services, etc.
10,343
2.3
11,395
2.1
8,667
9,234
+6.5
Social benefits for the consequences of war and political events
2,039
0.5
2,269
0.4
1,730
1,749
+1.1
Other social affairs
24,149
5.5
79,621
14.5
21,345
51,276
+140.2
Health, environment, sport, recreation
19,001
4.3
25,114
4.6
16,543
12,336
-25.4
Housing, urban development, regional planning and local community services
1,783
0.4
2,972
0.5
969
1,239
+27.9
Housing, home ownership savings premium
893
0.2
1,675
0.3
637
882
+38.4
Food, agriculture and forestry
1,469
0.3
2,611
0.5
605
1,070
+76.9
Energy and water management, trade and services
5,509
1.2
14,620
2.7
4,359
4,061
-6.8
Regional support measures
1,400
0.3
2,968
0.5
786
894
+13.8
Mining, manufacturing and construction
2,316
0.5
1,491
0.3
2,227
606
-72.8
Transport and communication
22,961
5.2
33,683
6.1
16,409
17,792
+8.4
Roads
9,791
2.2
9,815
1.8
6,841
5,546
-18.9
Railways and public transport
8,156
1.8
16,321
3.0
5,690
6,684
+17.5
Financial management
48,585
11.0
48,336
8.8
17,352
28,607
+64.9
Interest expenditure and borrowing-related expenditure
6,457
1.5
10,267
1.9
4,712
4,344
-7.8
Total expenditure²
441,798
100.0
547,726
100.0
334,428
401,340
+20.0
¹ Supplementary budget pursuant to the Act Adopting a Supplement to the Federal Budget for the 2021 Fiscal Year (Gesetz über die Feststellung eines Nachtrags zum Bundeshaushaltsplan für das Haushaltsjahr 2021) of 3 June 2021 (Federal Law Gazette I No 29, p. 1410).
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
Trends in federal expenditure by economic category
Trends in federal expenditure by economic category
Consumption expenditure
391,450
88.6
461,191
84.2
303,201
357,023
+17.8
Human resources expenditure
35,409
8.0
35,960
6.6
30,016
31,102
+3.6
Salary payments
26,249
5.9
26,817
4.9
21,988
22,982
+4.5
Pensions
9,160
2.1
9,144
1.7
8,028
8,121
+1.2
Operating expenditure
36,370
8.2
44,823
8.2
25,336
27,172
+7.2
Maintenance of immovable property
1,801
0.4
1,164
0.2
1,337
794
-40.6
Military procurement
16,833
3.8
18,155
3.3
10,605
11,086
+4.5
Other
17,736
4.0
25,504
4.7
13,394
15,291
+14.2
Interest expenditure
6,413
1.5
10,261
1.9
4,668
4,318
-7.5
Ongoing grants and subsidies
312,053
70.6
366,125
66.8
242,167
293,291
+21.1
to public administrations
75,607
17.1
40,670
7.4
40,849
52,485
+28.5
to other areas
236,446
53.5
325,455
59.4
201,318
240,806
+19.6
of which:
Companies
49,569
11.2
104,429
19.1
39,461
58,751
+48.9
Pensions, benefits, etc.
30,735
7.0
36,535
6.7
26,054
27,750
+6.5
Social security funds
134,613
30.5
153,495
28.0
119,697
138,665
+15.8
Other asset transfers
1,205
0.3
4,022
0.7
1,014
1,140
+12.4
Investment expenditure
50,348
11.4
59,268
10.8
31,227
44,317
+41.9
Financial assistance
38,756
8.8
51,165
9.3
23,166
40,032
+72.8
Grants and subsidies
30,652
6.9
39,856
7.3
16,994
20,298
+19.4
Loans, guarantees
7,630
1.7
6,680
1.2
6,163
19,411
+215.0
Acquisition of holdings; capital contributions
473
0.1
4,628
0.8
9
323
X
Fixed asset investment
11,592
2.6
8,103
1.5
8,061
4,285
-46.8
Construction projects
8,192
1.9
4,554
0.8
5,821
2,657
-54.4
Acquisition of movable assets
2,816
0.6
3,412
0.6
1,816
1,571
-13.5
Acquisition of real property
585
0.1
137
0.0
424
57
-86.6
General reduction/increase in expenditure
0
0.0
27,267
5.0
0
0
X
Total expenditure²
441,798
100.0
547,726
100.0
334,428
401,340
+20.0
¹ Supplementary budget pursuant to the Act Adopting a Supplement to the Federal Budget for the 2021 Fiscal Year (Gesetz über die Feststellung eines Nachtrags zum Bundeshaushaltsplan für das Haushaltsjahr 2021) of 3 June 2021 (Federal Law Gazette I No 29, p. 1410).
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
Income tax and corporation tax
(incl. final withholding tax on interest and capital gains)
140,012
45.0
134,358
43.7
104,851
119,234
+13.7
Includes:
Wages tax
89,075
28.6
84,651
27.5
67,699
68,937
+1.8
Assessed income tax
25,067
8.1
24,814
8.1
18,104
21,867
+20.8
Non-assessed tax on earnings
10,761
3.5
9,200
3.0
8,476
10,443
+23.2
Final withholding tax on interest and capital gains
2,976
1.0
2,794
0.9
2,413
3,610
+49.6
Corporation tax
12,134
3.9
12,899
4.2
8,160
14,378
+76.2
Value added taxes
94,391
30.3
114,323
37.2
79,569
92,425
+16.2
Trade tax apportionment paid to Federation and Länder
1,574
0.5
1,789
0.6
1,081
1,424
+31.7
Energy duty
37,635
12.1
39,850
13.0
26,352
25,746
-2.3
Tobacco duty
14,651
4.7
14,190
4.6
11,603
11,611
+0.1
Solidarity surcharge
18,676
6.0
9,950
3.2
14,574
8,458
-42.0
Insurance tax
14,553
4.7
14,890
4.8
12,873
13,248
+2.9
Electricity duty
6,561
2.1
6,880
2.2
5,437
5,514
+1.4
Motor vehicle tax
9,526
3.1
9,545
3.1
8,181
8,123
-0.7
Alcohol duty including alcopops duty
2,249
0.7
2,102
0.7
1,701
1,611
-5.3
Coffee duty
1,060
0.3
1,070
0.3
853
872
+2.2
Aviation tax
292
0.1
630
0.2
249
395
+58.6
Sparkling wine duty and intermediate products duty
428
0.1
394
0.1
323
278
-13.9
Other taxes accruing to the Federation
1
0.0
2
0.0
1
2
+100.0
Deductions
Consolidation assistance for the Länder
1,067
X
800
X
1,067
800
-25.0
Supplementary grants to Länder
8,751
X
9,179
X
6,530
7,653
+17.2
EU own resources (GNI-based)
25,616
X
33,280
X
18,392
25,765
+40.1
EU own resources (VAT-based)
2,473
X
4,430
X
2,191
3,695
+68.6
Grants to Länder for public transport
11,457
X
9,268
X
9,964
7,723
-22.5
Grants to Länder for motor vehicle tax and HGV toll
8,992
X
8,992
X
6,744
6,744
-
Other revenue
27,831
8.9
23,290
7.6
22,566
18,659
-17.3
Revenue from economic activity
7,263
2.3
5,352
1.7
5,677
2,791
-50.8
Interest revenue
364
0.1
385
0.1
278
267
-4.0
Loan repayments, holdings, privatisation proceeds
1,342
0.4
1,253
0.4
917
1,009
+10.0
Total revenue²
311,085
100.0
307,314
100.0
245,326
255,219
+4.0
¹ Supplementary budget pursuant to the Act Adopting a Supplement to the Federal Budget for the 2021 Fiscal Year (Gesetz über die Feststellung eines Nachtrags zum Bundeshaushaltsplan für das Haushaltsjahr 2021) of 3 June 2021 (Federal Law Gazette I No 29, p. 1410). 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
2021 trends in tax revenue (excluding local authority taxes)
2021 trends in tax revenue (excluding local authority taxes)¹
Joint taxes
Wages tax²
17,149
+17.6
172,643
+3.9
217,950
+4.1
Assessed income tax
1,308
X
51,454
+20.8
69,300
+17.5
Non-assessed taxes on earnings
1,473
+17.0
20,972
+22.4
23,950
+11.4
Final withholding tax on interest and capital gains
(including the former withholding tax on interest income)
754
+105.9
8,205
+49.6
9,500
+40.5
Corporation tax
-161
X
28,755
+76.2
38,900
+60.3
Value added taxes
21,421
+21.7
203,379
+11.9
246,500
+12.3
Trade tax apportionment paid to Federation and Länder
993
+35.4
3,650
+28.9
4,882
+28.5
Increased trade tax apportionment
0
-100.0
-0
X
0
X
Total joint taxes
42,937
+24.8
489,056
+13.1
610,982
+12.3
Taxes accruing to the Federation
Energy duty
3,371
+2.7
25,746
-2.3
37,050
-1.6
Tobacco duty
1,337
-7.1
11,611
+0.1
14,560
-0.6
Alcohol duty
178
+7.0
1,616
-4.4
2,000
-10.6
Insurance tax
716
+4.7
13,248
+2.9
14,960
+2.8
Electricity duty
564
-12.4
5,514
+1.4
6,670
+1.7
Motor vehicle tax
706
-6.5
8,123
-0.7
9,470
-0.6
Aviation tax
75
+227.3
395
+58.9
560
+91.7
Solidarity surcharge
402
-61.5
8,458
-42.0
11,500
-38.4
Other taxes accruing to the Federation
115
-14.4
1,146
-3.5
1,413
-5.8
Total taxes accruing to the Federation
7,466
-8.7
75,857
-7.7
98,183
-7.1
Taxes accruing to the Länder
Inheritance tax
712
-3.4
7,653
+7.3
9,100
+5.8
Real property transfer tax
1,471
+7.2
14,990
+13.6
18,150
+13.0
Betting and lottery tax
257
+38.9
1,889
+13.7
2,340
+14.5
Beer duty
52
-16.7
489
+4.7
590
+4.2
Other taxes accruing to the Länder
29
+7.5
468
+5.4
535
+5.0
Total taxes accruing to the Länder
2,521
+5.8
25,489
+11.3
30,715
+10.6
EU own resources
Customs duties
501
+1.9
4,057
+2.3
4,850
+3.1
VAT-based own resources
370
+70.5
3,695
+68.6
4,420
+78.7
EU own resources (GNI-based)
2,950
+48.0
25,765
+40.1
28,280
+10.4
Total EU own resources
3,821
+41.4
33,517
+36.5
38,870
+18.5
Federation³
20,175
+13.7
239,573
+6.8
305,431
+7.9
Länder³
25,741
+17.0
279,361
+10.4
347,128
+9.7
EU
3,821
+41.4
33,517
+36.5
38,870
+18.5
Local authorities’ share of income tax and value added tax
3,689
+22.4
42,008
+6.8
53,302
+6.4
Total tax revenue (excluding local authority taxes)
53,425
+17.5
594,459
+9.8
744,730
+9.1
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 2021.
Source: Federal Ministry of Finance
Total tax revenue (excluding local authority taxes) was up by 17.5% on the year in October 2021. This increase was largely due to higher revenue from joint taxes, which rose by 24.8% on the year. The strong growth in revenue from wages tax and value added taxes must be viewed in light of the very low baseline from the previous year. Tax revenue in October of last year was significantly lower due to (a) revenue shortfalls caused by the coronavirus crisis and (b) measures adopted as part of the Second Coronavirus Tax Assistance Act (Zweites Corona-Steuerhilfegesetz). In October 2020, as in the previous month, there was a decline in wages tax revenue due to the one-time bonus for families with children. VAT revenue was significantly reduced by the temporary cut in VAT rates in the second half of 2020. Furthermore, revenue from assessed income tax posted a significant increase in October 2021. Revenue from taxes accruing solely to the Federation fell by 8.7% on the year in October, while receipts from taxes accruing to the Länder rose by 5.8%.
Transfers of own resources to the EU, including customs duties, were up by roughly €1.1bn (41.4%) on the year in October 2021. Due to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, drawdowns of GNI-based own resources were higher for all remaining member states in 2021. The increase in the EU budget also had an impact. In addition, Germany’s contribution to the EU’s amending budget no 3/2021 (including pre-financing of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve) was settled in October. In general, monthly requisitions are based on the annual EU budget that is in force for the respective year.
In the 10 months from January to October 2021, total tax receipts (excluding local authority taxes) were up by 9.8% over the same period in 2020. Revenue from joint taxes rose by 13.1%, while receipts from taxes accruing solely to the Federation fell by 7.7%. Revenue from taxes accruing solely to the Länder grew by 11.3%.
Distribution among the Federation, Länder and local authorities
The Federation’s tax receipts (after accounting for supplementary federal grants to the Länder) were up by 13.7% on the year in October 2021. The Federation’s take from joint taxes grew by 31.0%. This was higher than the increase in overall revenue from joint taxes, which was up by 24.8%. This discrepancy is due to the fact that the Federation’s share of VAT revenue increased by 34.3%, even though overall VAT revenue was up by only 21.7%. Under section 1 (1) of the Fiscal Equalisation Act (Finanzausgleichgesetz), the Federation receives 52.81% of overall VAT revenue. This share is reduced by annual fixed amounts that the Federation allocates to the Länder and local authorities. Because the amounts of these allocations are fixed for a given year, this means that when VAT revenue goes up, the Federation’s share of VAT revenue goes up as well. Furthermore, the fixed amount that the Federation paid to the Länder in October 2021 was lower than the amount it paid in October 2020. Revenue from taxes accruing solely to the Federation was down by 8.7%. Transfers of own resources to the EU and supplementary federal grants to the Länder were both up sharply.
Länder tax receipts surged by 17.0% on the year in October 2021. Due to the above-described mechanism for distributing VAT revenue, the Länder posted lower rates of growth for VAT revenue (+14.7%) and revenue from joint taxes (+20.2%) than the Federation. In addition, the yield from taxes that accrue exclusively to the Länder posted a robust gain of 5.8%. In addition, supplementary federal grants to the Länder increased by 8.8% on the year, and federal subsidies to the Länder for public transport rose by 3.5%. Local authorities’ take from their share of joint taxes was 22.4% higher than in the same period last year.
Gross revenue from wages tax was up by 5.3% on the year in October, despite the reductions in revenue caused by tax relief measures for taxpayers in the current year (i.e. the increase in the basic personal allowance and the related shift in the other tax thresholds). This upward trend reflects the improvement in conditions on the labour market compared with last year. Child benefit payments – which are financed from wages tax receipts – declined by 27.6% on the year. In October of last year, the disbursement of the second (€100) instalment of the child bonus increased the overall amount of child benefit payments for that month. Overall, cash receipts from wages tax posted a year-on-year gain of 17.6% in October. In cumulative terms, cash receipts from wages tax were up by 3.9% on the year in the first 10 months of 2021.
On balance, gross corporation tax refunds totalling approximately €157m were paid out in October 2021, compared to refunds of €67m in October 2020. The gross figure for corporation tax revenue was then modified to account for small outgoing payments of the tax allowance for research and small incoming repayments of investment allowance. These payments totalled around €3.2m and on balance had only a minimal impact on cash receipts from corporation tax. Cumulatively, cash receipts from corporation tax were up by 76.2% on the year in the first 10 months of 2021.
Gross receipts from assessed income tax rose by 143.7% on the year in October. Employee refunds, which are subtracted from the gross figure, were 22.7% lower on the year in October. Investment allowance payments, research allowance payments and owner-occupied homes premiums, which are insignificant in terms of amount, are also subtracted from the gross figure. Altogether, cash receipts from assessed income tax rose to approximately €1.3bn in October 2021 compared to refunds of around €234m in the same month last year. In cumulative terms, cash receipts from assessed income tax were up by 20.8% on the year in the first 10 months of 2021.
Gross receipts from non-assessed taxes on earnings were up by 6.0% on the year in October 2021. Refunds by the Federal Central Tax Office, which are financed from gross revenue, totalled about €68m (down by 65.2% on the year). Overall, cash receipts from non-assessed taxes on earnings were up by 17.0% in October 2021 compared with the same month last year. Cumulatively, cash receipts from non-assessed taxes on earnings were up by 22.4% on the year in the first 10 months of 2021.
Final withholding tax on interest and capital gains
Revenue from final withholding tax on interest and capital gains was up by 105.9% on the year in October 2021. Cumulative cash receipts from this tax were up by 49.6% on the year in the first 10 months of 2021.
Revenue from value added taxes was up by 21.7% on the year in October 2021. Receipts from domestic VAT rose by 11.9%, while receipts from import VAT were up by 56.7%. Companies are routinely granted permanent extensions for filing VAT returns and paying VAT. As a result, VAT revenue from August is not remitted by companies to the government until October. Cash receipts in October 2020 were also reduced by the effects of the reduction in VAT rates in the second half of 2020. Last year’s low baseline figure due to the VAT rate reduction accounts for the bulk of the revenue growth recorded in October 2021. Cumulatively, cash receipts from value added taxes were up by 11.9% on the year in the first 10 months of 2021.
In October 2021, revenue from taxes accruing solely to the Federation was down by 8.7% compared with the same month last year, mainly due to the partial elimination of the solidarity surcharge from 1 January 2021 onwards. Revenue from the solidarity surcharge was down by 61.5% on the year. Tobacco duty, motor vehicle tax and electricity duty all posted significant declines in revenue, falling by 7.1%, 6.5% and 12.4%, respectively. In contrast, revenue was up on the year in the case of insurance tax (+4.7%), energy duty (+2.7%) and aviation tax (+227.3%). The surge in aviation tax revenue indicates that air traffic at German airports is growing again following a sharp contraction during the coronavirus crisis, although it still remains far below pre-pandemic levels. Trends in revenue from other taxes had only a minor impact on overall receipts from federal taxes. In cumulative terms, cash receipts from taxes accruing solely to the Federation were down by 7.7% on the year in the January–October period.
Receipts from taxes accruing solely to the Länder were up by 5.8% on the year in October 2021. Taxes posting revenue gains included real property transfer tax (+7.2%), fire protection tax (+7.5%) and betting and lottery tax (+38.9%). The increase in receipts from the betting and lottery tax was mainly due to a substantial increase in revenue from the new online poker tax and virtual slots tax, which have been levied since 1 July 2021. Beer duty revenue was down by 16.7%, while inheritance tax revenue fell by 3.4%. In cumulative terms, cash receipts from taxes accruing solely to the Länder were up by a total of 11.3% on the year in the first 10 months of 2021.
Borrowing trends for the Federation (budget and special funds, excluding loan financing) in October 2021
Borrowing trends for the Federation (budget and special funds, excluding loan financing) in October 2021
in €m
Debt level
Borrowing
(increase)
Debt repayment
(decrease)
Debt level
Change in debt level
(balance)
Interest
30 September 2021
October
October
31 October 2021
October
October
Total
1,325,400
40,612
-39,083
1,326,929
1,529
590
broken down by purpose
(federal budget)
1,281,798
41,711
-39,083
1,284,425
2,627
590
Financial Market Stabilisation Fund (loans for expenses pursuant to section 9 (1) of the Stabilisation Fund Act (Stabilisierungsfondsgesetz))
22,756
7
-
22,763
7
-
Investment and Redemption Fund
16,069
57
-
16,126
57
-
Economic Stabilisation Fund (loans for recapitalisation measures pursuant to section 22 of the Stabilisation Fund Act)
4,777
-1,162
-
3,615
-1,162
-
broken down by debt type
Conventional federal securities
1,231,407
38,215
-39,083
1,230,538
-868
278
30-year federal bonds
275,191
1,086
-
276,276
1,086
-83
10-year federal bonds
565,505
8,284
-
573,789
8,284
127
Federal notes
166,392
3,976
-21,456
148,913
-17,480
98
Federal Treasury notes
79,798
3,809
-
83,607
3,809
49
Treasury discount papers issued by the Federation
144,520
21,060
-17,627
147,953
3,433
87
Inflation-linked federal securities
63,851
738
-
64,589
738
288
30-year inflation-linked federal bonds
10,196
207
-
10,403
207
133
10-year inflation-linked federal bonds
53,656
531
-
54,187
531
155
Green federal securities
19,824
1,659
-
21,483
1,659
26
30-year green federal bonds
5,575
-
-
5,575
-
-
10-year green federal bonds
9,588
1,649
-
11,237
1,649
25
Green federal notes
4,661
10
-
4,671
10
-
Securitised loans
5,845
-
-
5,845
-
-1
Loans through repurchase transactions
-
-
-
-
-
-
Other loans and ordinary debts
4,474
-
-
4,474
-
-
Additional information
Liabilities from the indexing of inflation-linked federal securities
5,456
5,729
273
-
Reserves in accordance with the Final Payment Financing Act (Schlusszahlungsfinanzierungsgesetz)
4,281
4,294
13
-
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.
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).
Borrowing trends for the Federation (loan financing) in October 2021
Borrowing trends for the Federation (loan financing) in October 2021
in €m
Debt level
Borrowing
(increase)
Debt repayment
(decrease)
Debt level
Change in debt level
(balance)
Interest
30 September 2021
October
October
31 October 2021
October
October
Total
86,906
3,606
-2,100
88,413
1,506
69
broken down by purpose
Financial Market Stabilisation Fund (loans for resolution authorities pursuant to section 9 (5) of the Stabilisation Fund Act)
52,500
2,600
-2,100
53,000
500
72
Economic Stabilisation Fund (loans for KfW pursuant to section 23 of the Stabilisation Fund Act)
34,406
1,006
-
35,413
1,006
-3
Any discrepancies in totals are due to rounding.
Under section 9 (5) of the Stabilisation Fund Act, the Federal Ministry of Finance is empowered to borrow up to €60bn 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 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.
Under section 24 (1) in conjunction with section 23 of the Stabilisation Fund Act, the Federal Ministry of Finance is authorised to borrow up to €100bn for the Economic Stabilisation Fund for the purpose of granting loans. Under section 23 of the Stabilisation Fund Act, the Economic Stabilisation Fund can grant loans to KfW for the purpose of refinancing the special programmes assigned to it by the federal government in response to the coronavirus crisis.