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German tax revenue up sharply

October 21, 2013

The German federal government and authorities in the 16 states have reported a marked increase in revenues. Among other things, September figures showed a sharp rise in income taxes as employment remained robust.

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A pile of euro banknotes Copyright: Fotolia
Image: Fotolia/imageteam

According to data released by the Finance Ministry in Berlin, German tax revenues rose by 7.8 percent in September compared to the same month a year earlier. Authorities were reported to have collected 54.7 billion euros ($75 billion).

The figures showed that tax revenues recorded for the first three quarters of 2013 amounted to 416.4 billion euros, marking a 3.2 percent increase from the levels recorded in the same period last year.

Financial pundits had expected full-year tax revenues to rise by 3.2 percent, but there were strong indications estimates would have to be revised upward soon.

Rosy outlook

The September gains followed a rare 2.3 percent dip in August, mainly due to one-off effects and contributions to the EU budget, which had caused the first monthly drop in tax revenues since May 2012.

Merkel in talks with Social Democrats

The Finance Ministry argued the strong September figures were in no small way a result of a robust employment situation in the country, with income tax pointing strongly upwards.

The ministry expects the economy to stay on a growth course. "Demand for German industrial products continues to pick up," it announced in a monthly report. "And the mood among executives in manufacturing is also improving steadily."

hg/ccp (Reuters, AFP, dpa)