BERLIN (Reuters) – German tax revenues will come in 36 billion euros ($42.47 billion) lower in the next five years than predicted in May, due mainly to tax changes aimed at helping Europe’s biggest economy weather the coronavirus crisis, Handelsblatt daily reported on Tuesday.
Citing initial calculations for the interim tax estimate, which Finance Minister Olaf Scholz will announce on Thursday, the business daily said the state will receive about 10 billion euros less next year than previously estimated.
However, after 2022, things will start to improve, the newspaper quoted a government source as saying.
It said the lower revenues through to the end of 2024 were mainly due to changes made to taxes and benefits, such as child benefit, which will increase next year. The government has also reduced sales tax.
As Germany faces its deepest recession since World War Two, Scholz is working on a budget for next year. The minister told Reuters this week that more debt was needed to sustain economic recovery.
(Reporting by Madeline Chambers, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
