Berlin, September 23 (QNA) - Germany's federal budget posted a deficit of 67.7 billion euros in the first eight months of 2026, as spending rose while revenue declined, according to the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Federal expenditure reached 333.9 billion euros from January through August, up 4.7% from the same period a year earlier, while revenue fell 2.5% to 266.3 billion euros.
Tax revenue fell 3.2% to 239.6 billion euros, largely due to higher payments to the European Union based on gross national income. Other revenue, meanwhile, rose 4.2% to 26.6 billion euros, supported by grants from the European Commission's Recovery and Resilience Facility.
Consumption expenditure increased 4.5%, while investment spending climbed 6.7%. Military procurement surged 46.2% to 10.686 billion euros, while defense spending rose 27.4% to 43.811 billion euros.
The increase in investment spending was driven largely by higher lending during the period, including 5.8 billion euros in additional liquidity assistance to the Federal Employment Agency, as well as 2.5 billion euros in loans to the long-term care insurance equalization fund and 2.3 billion euros to the health fund.
The rise in current expenditure was also driven by higher federal contributions to the statutory pension insurance scheme and increased spending on security, defense and stabilization measures, while spending on electricity-price relief was 2.3 billion euros lower than a year earlier.
Net borrowing stood at 19.3 billion euros at the end of August. (QNA)