Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – Baden-Württemberg’s Finance Minister Danyal Bayaz (Greens) fears massive consequences for the state budget after the gloomy forecast of leading German economic institutes. “The economic forecast lies like a shadow on our budget. A severe economic slump would completely change the statics,” said the Green politician on Thursday. “We must therefore continue to drive on sight, the budget remains an equation with many unknowns.”
The green-black state government approved its draft for the next double budget on Tuesday. But this is likely to change significantly in the course of parliamentary deliberations. Above all, the coalition must wait for the tax estimate at the end of October.
The economic research institutes said in Berlin on Thursday that Germany was heading into a recession, with a long-term loss of prosperity. The greatest burden lies with private households, which have to accept a massive loss of purchasing power. Most companies, on the other hand, could still cope with the energy price shocks quite well, it said.
Now the question is what that means for the tax estimate. There is still hope in the coalition for a significant plus, because the public sector also benefits from the fact that inflation increases revenue from VAT. Bayaz recently said that only after the estimate could one answer the question of whether the country could also bear the billions in costs that the federal government’s relief package would result in.
