- Finance Minister Lindner underscores that the budget did not operate autonomously.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner has stood firm during the defense of his proposed budget for the upcoming year in the Bundestag. "Let's face it, it wasn't a breeze," Lindner, the FDP politician, commented on the negotiations within the traffic light coalition. The coalition encountered economic, legal, and political restrictions. Nevertheless, Lindner emphasized, "as long as there's room for agreement, it's crucial to reach one."
Despite the tough initial situation, substantial reliefs and performance enhancements for citizens have been attained, the finance minister declared. For instance, the 2025 budget proposes an increase in child allowance and higher tax-exempt allowances. According to Lindner, the state is relinquishing revenues to augment citizens' purchasing power and stimulate private investments.
The government has pledged an overall budget expenditure of approximately 490 billion euros. More than 10% of this sum - specifically 51.3 billion euros - will be obtained through loans. This adheres to the debt control rule incorporated into the Basic Law, permitting a minimal amount of new debt in poor economic situations.
Lindner dismissed Union criticism suggesting that the budget might not be constitutionally valid. "The proposed budget before us is legally valid," he affirmed. However, the Union criticizes the substantial unspent global allocation of 12 billion euros. With this, the traffic light coalition is betting that the government will not spend 12 billion euros from its budget in the coming year due to factors such as project failures or unreleased funds. Lindner has already underscored that this gap must be reduced by several billion by the year's end.
The financial sector will closely observe the proposed budget from Finance Minister Lindner, given the significant changes in allowances and tax exemptions for citizens. The financial sector agrees with Lindner's approach of relinquishing state revenues to boost citizens' purchasing power and stimulate private investments.
