Schwerin (dpa/mv) - The considerable additional income of the German state forecast by the tax assessors causes only restrained joy in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Financial politicians from the governing parties SPD and Linke emphasized the risks on Thursday.
The financial policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Tilo Gundlack, said that one risk is inflation, which is being driven by the sharp rise in energy prices. It affects not only the people and companies in the country, but also government spending. He referred to government spending on aid programs. "But increased expenses for personnel and interest are also expected to have an impact." In addition, the economy will probably cool down significantly in the coming year. A disciplined spending policy must therefore be maintained.
It is not yet known what exactly the tax estimate means for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the municipalities in the north-east. Calculations are currently being made in the Schwerin Ministry of Finance, as a spokeswoman for Minister Heiko Geue (SPD) said. Statements are expected on Friday.
The tax estimators assume that the federal, state and local governments will earn around 126.4 billion euros more by 2026 than expected in May. This year, however, tax revenue is expected to be 1.7 billion euros lower than predicted.
One of the reasons for the rising tax revenue is the high inflation rate. As long as consumers do not limit their consumption, inflation favors tax revenues. Because if goods become more expensive, the income from the taxes that have to be paid on them also increases. Above all, the value added tax flushes more money into the coffers.
The financial policy spokesman for the co-governing left in the Schwerin state parliament, Torsten Koplin, therefore sees no reason to be happy about the predicted tax increase. "On the other hand, the country is spending in the three-digit million range to cushion the consequences of the energy crisis and the corona pandemic," he said.
In addition, the country must deal with the consequences of introducing citizen income. "According to the judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court, the distance requirement between the citizen's income and the lower wage groups in the public sector must be at least 15 percent." This will lead to wage increases. For the state budget, this will probably mean additional expenditure of 100 million euros.
