German federal finance ministry’s new monthly report shows that Germany’s tax revenues have increased by around 9% in November, compared to the same month in 2023.
The main driver of the growth is a significant increase in the revenue from the joint taxes, which make up the largest part of the income, with a rise of over 10% compared to November 2023. A special effect also contributed to the increase in the value-added tax, which recorded a significant increase in revenue compared to the same month last year. The income from the other joint taxes, except for the corporate tax, was also higher in some cases than in the comparable period.
In the year-to-date, the joint taxes have seen a growth of almost 4% compared to the same period last year, with the overall tax revenues (excluding joint taxes) also showing a similar increase.
The income from the federal taxes in November 2024 was only slightly higher, around 1.5%, compared to the same month in the previous year. There were increases in the revenue from the tobacco, insurance, and motor vehicle taxes, as well as the solidarity surcharge, but these were offset by decreases in the energy and electricity taxes.
Cumulatively from January to November 2024, the federal tax revenues were around 3.5% higher than in the same period of the previous year, although this was largely due to the one-time energy crisis contribution of the European Union (EU). Without this, the cumulative increase would have been similar to that of the reporting month, according to the ministry.
The state taxes, on the other hand, showed a much more significant increase, with a rise of almost 12% in November compared to the same month of the previous year. The real estate transfer tax continued to be around 1.1 billion euros and showed a growth of around 8% compared to the lower base of the previous year. The second strong state tax, the inheritance tax, recorded a 17% increase.
In the year-to-date, the state taxes showed a growth of around 5% compared to the same period of the previous year, which underscores the “revenue volatility” in individual months, as stated in the ministry’s monthly report.