Overview
- The Arbeitskreis Steuerschätzung published its autumn forecast on Thursday and put about €4.1 billion more into the federal coffers for 2027 and about €10.9 billion extra for Bund, Länder and Kommunen together.
- Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said the forecast does not free up new spending power for 2027 because higher growth also reduces permitted new borrowing under the constitutional debt brake, so he opposed an immediate, universal cut to the electricity tax.
- State premiers at the Ministerpräsidentenkonferenz urged fast action to cut the electricity tax for all and to present a plan for a fuel-price cap, creating a direct clash with Klingbeil who wants financing proposals before commitments.
- Early budget data show the July Grundsicherung reform has not delivered the large savings its backers promised, with federal monthly outlays for basic income and housing in July–September roughly matching last year and leaving households' costs largely unchanged.
- A separate governance lapse put a higher tobacco rate on paper by mistake but the Finance Ministry said it will be corrected administratively and that taxpayers should see no immediate effect, a development that, together with violent protests in France and strict fan bans in Monaco, highlights strains on administration and public order.