Concerns are mounting ahead of a parliamentary debate in the Bundestag concerning the 2025 federal budget and financial planning extending to 2029. The German Taxpayers’ Association is raising alarms about a potentially significant surge in interest expenses for the federal government.
According to a report in “Bild”, Association President Reiner Holznagel stated that the nation’s interest payments are projected to escalate from the current 30 billion euros to a figure reaching 62 billion euros by 2029. He cautioned that this increase could effectively absorb any tax revenue surpluses accumulated until 2029, ultimately diminishing the state’s financial flexibility and capacity for future action due to ongoing debt-related policies.
Holznagel further criticized the government’s practice of reclassifying approximately 55 billion euros from the standard federal budget into a newly established special fund. He characterized these actions as accounting maneuvers, accusing the administration of employing deceptive practices to present a more favorable investment ratio. Specifically, planned investment expenditures are being reduced within the core budget and then reappearing as investments within the infrastructure special fund, but now financed through debt rather than tax income. The association president labelled this as a “blatant relabeling”.
