Erfurt (dpa/th) - Thuringia's Finance Minister Heike Taubert (SPD) has warned of risks in view of the forecast additional tax revenue from the federal, state and local governments. "We are in an unusual situation in which the economic situation, but above all the outlook, is extremely gloomy," said Taubert on Thursday in Erfurt. According to their assessment, the state budget can also expect additional income this year. The SPD politician advocated taking the additional money into the state's reserve.
Risks are the weakened economy, possible further relief programs in the energy crisis and additional expenses for the accommodation of war refugees from Ukraine. The effects of measures from the relief package three that were not taken into account alone would add up to 21 billion euros in the coming year and 34 billion in 2024, said Taubert.
The concrete effects of the tax estimate for Thuringia would be calculated in the coming days in the Ministry of Finance and should be discussed in the cabinet on November 2nd and then presented to the public. Taubert: "The additional income will be reflected in the current state budget."
In this context, she referred to the special fund that has already been decided on in the energy crisis, which is said to have a volume of 407 million euros. "We will add another 350 million euros to this special fund from the state reserve. I therefore advocate using additional tax revenue to stabilize the budget equalization reserve."
Despite the energy crisis and the expected recession, the federal, state and local governments can expect more tax revenue than expected in the coming years. According to figures from the Federal Ministry of Finance, tax estimators assume that the state will take in around 126.4 billion euros more by 2026 than predicted in May. This year, however, tax revenue is expected to be 1.7 billion euros lower than predicted.
