General government records surplus of EUR 6.7 billion for the first half of 2008
WIESBADEN – According to provisional data of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), net lending of general government amounted to EUR 6.7 billion in the first six months of 2008. Thus the surplus of EUR 4.2 billion achieved in the first half of 2007 could even be surpassed. As in the year before, net lending/net borrowing was characterised by a continued positive trend of revenue in the first six months of 2008. However, with 3.0% the increase of revenue was only about half as high. With a plus of 2.5%, expenditure showed a noticeable development in the first half of 2008 after four years of very moderate increases.
Regarding revenue, there was a rise by 3.7% in fiscal revenue, which accounts for about half of the total revenue of general government. After the significant increase recorded for 2007, the trend clearly slowed down here. While revenue from income and property tax rose by 6.7%, the increase recorded for taxes on production and imports were comparatively moderate with 1.1%. In the same period one year earlier there had been rises by 10.5% for both categories. It has to be taken into account, however, that in 2007 the development of taxes on production and imports had been influenced substantially also by the increase of the value-added tax from 1 January 2007. The positive development of employment and wages produced a sizeable increase by 1.6% also of revenue from social contributions in the first half of 2008, although the rate of contribution to the unemployment insurance scheme had been lowered once more at the beginning of 2008. Revenue from property income (interest received, Bundesbank profit, other dividends and rents) rose by 4.6% in the first six months of 2008. Regarding expenditure, all items except subsidies recorded increases, some of which were considerable. Among the more significant positions, above-average increases were shown in particular by property income paid (+5.2%), social benefits in kind (+4.3%) and intermediate consumption (+2.9%). Compensation of employees paid by general government was up 2.1%. Expenditure for social benefits other than social transfers in kind, which account for nearly two fifths of total expenditure, rose only slightly by +0.2%. Measured by the gross domestic product at current prices (EUR 1,229.1 billion), a ratio of +0.5% has been calculated on the basis of the positive net lending/net borrowing balance for the first half of 2008. The data are based on definitions of the European System of Accounts (ESA) 1995. The data do not cover revenue/expenditure relating to swap transactions. Hence they are not comparable to the annual data which are relevant for the European procedure to be applied in the case of an excessive deficit of general government (Maastricht Treaty). Due to trend variations of net lending/net borrowing within a year, it is not possible to draw conclusions from the half-yearly result for the result to be expected for the calendar year and thus for the procedure to be applied in the case of an excessive general government deficit.
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