German Good Times Over as Tax Revenues Forecast to Dwindle

(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s period of surging tax revenues looks to be over after the government predicted less income than previously expected in coming years due to a slowdown in Europe’s biggest economy.

Total tax revenue of 794 billion euros ($889 billion) is expected this year, 11 billion euros less than a November projection, the Finance Ministry said in Berlin Thursday. Federal tax income is seen at 324 billion euros, 10 billion euros down on the previous estimate. The shortfalls grow significantly in coming years and total 124 billion euros through 2023.

“The government does not see any signs of a crisis in the current situation,” Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said at a news conference. “We still have economic growth,” he added, describing the current slowdown as a “dip.”

The downwards corrections are due to slowing growth caused by uncertainty over global trade and Brexit and tax cuts introduced by the government are also a factor, the ministry said.

Europe’s biggest economy has enjoyed uninterrupted growth since 2009 but the pace of expansion is expected to slow sharply this year, crimping tax income. The government last month cut its forecast for 2019 gross domestic product growth to 0.5 percent, half the rate previously projected.

--With assistance from Zoe Schneeweiss.

To contact the reporter on this story: Birgit Jennen in Berlin at bjennen1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Iain Rogers, Chris Reiter

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