2024-07-11 20:37:58
The federal government has agreed on the new federal budget for 2025. The draft shows where investments will be made and where savings will be made.
The federal government has agreed on the draft budget for 2025 and the financial plan until 2028. Its declared goal is to make Germany safer, more competitive and more future-proof. According to a paper summarizing the agreement and available to t-online, the debt brake will not be overturned.
The federal budget sets clear priorities, it says. More money is to be spent on internal and external security. Social cohesion and climate protection are also to be financially strengthened, according to the traffic light government’s plan. An overview of the individual points.
Die Federal investments will reach a record level with the new budget. In 2025, they will rise to around 57 billion euros. For comparison: In 2024, it was 53 billion euros. In addition, there are funds from the Climate and Transformation Fund and subsidies for the EEG levy amounting to around 40 billion euros.
In the area of infrastructure, money is to be invested in railways, roads, local transport and digital networks, according to a paper from the federal government. Deutsche Bahn will receive construction cost subsidies and its equity will be increased. Further loans to Deutsche Bahn AG and Autobahn GmbH are being examined, it is said.
For external security, further investments should be made in armed forces The NATO two percent target is to be exceeded in the coming years, and the defense budget is to grow to 80 billion euros by 2028. Ukraine is also to continue to receive support.
Around one billion euros more than previously planned will be invested in the internal security This applies to security authorities, civil protection, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief and customs. There will also be additional funds for adaptation to climate change and for agricultural and coastal protection.
Tax relief are also planned, according to the paper. Measures such as the reduction of bracket creep are intended to relieve taxpayers of a total of 23 billion euros. Companies are to benefit from improved depreciation, research allowances and other tax advantages, according to the plan.
Social cohesion should be promoted through increased benefits for children, young people and families be strengthened. The child and basic allowance as well as child benefit are to be increased from 1 January 2025. More than one billion euros will be made available for working parents with low wages from 2025.
The Start-up opportunities program is intended to support schools with a high proportion of socially disadvantaged students with one billion euros annually. The Daycare Quality Act will be continued with around two billion euros; it is intended to ensure good childcare.
The Pension Pact II, which the Federal Cabinet has already approved, is intended to ensure a reliable pension level and to stabilize future contributions through returns from a growing capital stock (generational capital).
For more affordable housing The federal government will continue to support social housing until 2028, for which more than 20 billion euros have been earmarked. Climate-neutral new construction in the lower price segment will receive an additional one billion euros in funding.
The Climate and Transformation Fund remains the central instrument for climate protection, energy transition and transformations. Around three billion euros are available for research projects, while eight billion euros are to flow through the pact for research and innovation.
Measures from the so-called “growth initiative” are intended to lead to higher tax revenues in the long term, as the paper states. These include Tax benefits for overtime and incentives for older people who want to work beyond retirement.
The government speaks of an increase in efficiency in Citizens’ allowancefor example through tougher sanctions for illegal work and a kind of bonus for long-term unemployed people who take up a job. These are intended to prevent abuse. A planned supplementary budget takes into account higher needs as early as 2024, and in total there should be 11 billion euros more money in the current year.