Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – Due to ongoing crises with unforeseeable economic consequences, the black-green state government of North Rhine-Westphalia has only presented a preliminary draft budget for the coming year. The budget is currently planned without new borrowing, said State Finance Minister Marcus Optendrenk (CDU) on Wednesday in Düsseldorf. However, key parameters are still completely unclear.
The effects of the federal government’s announced relief package on the state have not yet been taken into account and the results of the autumn tax estimate are still largely unclear. “Whether we incur new debts depends on the result,” said Optendrenk after the press conference.
Optendrenk spoke of a “basic budget” with a focus on the essentials, since there are great imponderables on both the income and expenditure side. However, the draft budget does not have a “buffer” at the moment, emphasized the CDU politician. The current draft adheres to the requirements of the debt brake.
The volume of the 2023 budget is expected to increase by five billion euros to 93.4 billion euros compared to 2022. It is the first budget of the new state government made up of CDU and Greens. An increase in tax revenue by 3.6 billion to 75.4 billion euros is planned. The basis for this is still the May tax estimate. The budget was shaped by crises such as Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, the energy crisis, high inflation, interest rate increases and the ongoing corona pandemic, said Optendrenk.
At almost 21.7 billion euros, the budget of the Ministry of Education has the largest volume. According to Optendrenk, spending on internal security totals almost 6 billion euros. 1.8 billion euros are being made available for state measures for asylum seekers and civil war refugees. 477 million euros flow into digitization measures.
