- Voigt: the Land government neglects the budget
CDU Leader Mario Voigt expects a draft budget for 2025 from the red-red-green state government to be presented before the September state election. So far, there has been no sign of one, he said while presenting an expert team that will outline a program for the first 100 days if the CDU wins the election. "It's nearly negligent that the state government doesn't have a draft budget yet," Voigt said. At the program presentation, the CDU will also reveal the costs of its projects, he announced, referring to "price tags" on each proposal.
Billion-dollar gap?
A spokesperson for the Finance Ministry confirmed that no draft budget for the coming year has been presented yet. The individual ministries have submitted their financial needs, which are significantly higher than the expected revenues. The spokesperson did not provide a specific figure, but reports from Thuringian finance politicians suggest that the ministries initially requested about two billion euros more than what can be covered by expected tax revenues. The red-red-green government is expected to reach an agreement on the further course of the budget by mid-August, the spokesperson said.
Ultimately, a new government and the newly elected state parliament will decide on the budget with expenditures in the billions. The budget resolution is considered the "king's right of the parliament." Given the expected difficult coalition formation, there is likely to be a certain lead time through a draft budget.
Less income predicted
The tax forecast in May predicted that Thuringia would have about 90 million euros less in revenue than previously expected in the coming year. Finance Minister Heike Taubert had set the framework for expenditures in 2025 at about 13 billion euros after the tax forecast was presented, which would be roughly at this year's level. Taubert has not ruled out that the draft budget may not be presented until September, possibly after the state election.
Voigt criticized the lack of a draft budget from the red-red-green state government, stating that it's nearly negligent. Furthermore, he mentioned that the CDU will reveal the costs of its projects, emphasizing the need for a clear "price tag" on each proposal, given the expected billion-dollar gap.
