By Maria Martinez
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s federal and state governments’ tax revenue rose 5.3% in August compared with the same month last year, the finance ministry said on Friday.
The federal and state governments’ tax revenue reached a total of 61.9 billion euros ($68.9 billion) last month, according to the ministry’s monthly report.
This follows a 7.9% decline in tax revenues in July.
Despite the volatility in taxes, the trend remains positive. Tax revenue rose by 2.3% in January through August, when compared with the same period last year, and reached 539.79 billion euros.
The German economy unexpectedly contracted 0.1% in the second quarter, showing the continued struggles of the euro zone’s biggest economy and spurring recession fears.
“The short-term economic outlook continues to be gloomy,” the report said. Inflation continues its downward trend, but core inflation – which excludes volatile items like food and energy -remains high.
In its latest forecast, the German government expects the economy to grow 0.2% this year. The forecast will be updated on Oct. 9.
For the whole of 2024, analysts see tax revenue increasing to 863.68 billion euros, up 4.1% from the previous year, according to the report.
($1 = 0.8979 euros)
(Reporting by Maria Martinez; Editing by Mark Potter)
