BERLIN (Dow Jones) – There is apparently an enormous gap in public budgets this year due to the measures taken against the coronavirus pandemic. According to calculations by the Federal Ministry of Finance, the public deficit in 2021 will amount to 9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and thus more than twice as high as in 2020, reported the news magazine Der Spiegel. No confirmation was initially available from the Ministry of Finance.
In the coming year, the deficit of the federal, state, municipal and social security funds will decrease to 3 percent, in 2023 only half as high and in 2024 to be 0.5 percent. According to the information, the experts from Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) do not expect a balanced budget again until 2025. The federal government will then also get by without new loans.
The national debt measured by GDP will rise this year to 74.5 percent from almost 70 percent last year. By 2025, the debt ratio should fall to just over 69 percent. The projections are part of the stability program that the German government has to report to the EU Commission every spring. The cabinet will therefore decide on Wednesday.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 16, 2021 11:15 ET (15:15 GMT)
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