- Budget surplus in billions after second quarter
Hamburg's Finance Senator Andreas Dressel has drawn a positive interim balance for the first half of the year. Despite challenging conditions, the result after the second quarter showed a surplus of around 1.3 billion euros. Given these figures, the SPD politician was also optimistic about the remainder of the year: "Despite all current challenges, it is realistic that we will conclude the year 2024, the 'actual' year, with a positive annual result, following 2022 and 2023."
Tax revenues have developed as expected so far, "in line with the current tax forecast from May of this year," said Dressel. For the current year, additional revenues of 30 million euros compared to the previous year's autumn forecast were expected.
"We can be satisfied with the budget development in the first six months of this year, given the difficult overall situation," said Dressel. However, looking ahead to the budget negotiations in the parliament starting in September, he made it clear: "There is no room for new spending wishes!"
Taxpayers' Association: Use surplus to pay off debt
The half-year report once again shows "that the city of Hamburg is doing well," said the Federation of Taxpayers. "Even if money is abundant, spending wishes must be adjusted to match revenues," said the state chairman Sascha Mummenhoff. "In the interest of intergenerational fairness and with an eye to rising interest rates, we recommend using a portion of the surplus to pay off debt."
The Finance Senator's optimism for the remainder of the year stems from the budgetary surplus of approximately 1.3 billion euros, which is a significant deviation from the initial forecasts. Given the current financial situation, it would be wise to allocate a portion of the surplus towards paying off the city's debt, as suggested by the Taxpayers' Association, to ensure intergenerational fairness and consider rising interest rates.
