06/07/2026 - "The budgetary development is causing businesses concern. Expenditures will rise by an average of five percent per year in the coming years, which is significantly higher than in the past, where it ranged from three to four percent. Over the same period, tax revenues will grow only half as quickly, at around three percent per year. Without economic growth, revenues cannot keep pace with this dynamic.

The result is a further increase in public debt, even though a large proportion of the planned loans are allocated to defence capabilities and the resilience of the economic location. The rise in interest expenditure until 2030 is a warning signal. By the end of the decade, €81 billion per year is earmarked for this, which corresponds to 13 percent of the entire budget.

Social welfare, defence, and interest expenses alone will account for 80 percent of the budget by 2030, leaving little scope for growth-related expenditures. The federal government must take countermeasures here. From a business perspective, the way forward includes lower energy costs, reduced tax burdens, and more growth-inducing investments in areas such as transport, research and development, and the expansion of networks and data infrastructures."