WWhilst worries about the gas supply and thus the economy are growing, tax revenue is showing no signs of weakness – on the contrary: the Treasury is practically raking in the money. As reported by the Federal Ministry of Finance in the latest monthly report, tax revenue in June rose by no less than 26.3 percent compared to the same month last year. Special effects may have played a role there. But regardless of that, there was significant growth in the first half of the year. Of course, the report leaves the crucial question unanswered: How long will the positive development last? Tax revenues usually lag behind the economic situation. If the economy starts to falter, the Treasury will also feel the effects with a delay.
But back to the June results, which the finance ministers of the federal and state governments considered brilliant. According to the information, almost half of the additional income was attributable to sales taxes – also due to “cash accounting posting shifts”. Compared to the previous year, the increase was even higher at almost 60 percent in non-assessed income taxes. Behind this is the “considerable increase in dividend payments”, as the employees of Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) formulate. The increase in corporate income tax (almost 30 percent) is also remarkable. There is at least a two-digit increase in the assessed income tax. In both cases, this is due to the advance payments due last month, they say. Companies and the self-employed pay these deductions to the tax authorities four times a year. June is one of the most important tax months. The large payroll tax recently increased by almost 14 percent. According to the report, this was mainly due to the “robust” labor market. Of the taxes shared by the federal and state governments, only the final withholding tax showed a minus.
June was therefore a definite winner for the Treasury, but otherwise the year started extremely well for him. In the first six months, tax revenues grew by 17.5 percent compared to the first half of 2021. “This is partly due to the weak basis for comparison in 2021 as a result of the economic impact of the corona pandemic and the related statutory and sub-statutory tax measures taken.” , say the experts. In the months from January to June, revenue from community taxes increased by 19.9 percent, federal taxes by 3.9 percent and state taxes by 9.1 percent.
The fact that the federal government had to withdraw its growth forecast for this year is not yet reflected in the tax statistics. The increase even exceeds the most recent forecast by the working group on tax estimates. As recently as May, he predicted an increase of 6.7 percent for the year as a whole.
