8 billion € minus

Brunner’s budget miracle

Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP)(Bild: OLIVIER MATTHYS)

Eight instead of 17 billion euros in the red - the deficit has been reduced by more than half in 2023. The finance minister is delighted and defends new debt as a crisis investment.

The Austrian Ministry of Finance traditionally budgets very conservatively, meaning that the budget always turns out better than planned in the end. However, the provisional annual financial statements for 2023 are a first: the forecast deficit has been reduced by more than half. We have posted a deficit of eight billion instead of 17 billion. However, this is not due to any political achievement, but to inflation on the revenue side - and a good economy with correspondingly higher tax revenues. On the expenditure side, billions in subsidies, among other things, were not collected.

Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP)(Bild: OLIVIER MATTHYS)

9.1 billion euros

In the previous year, the federal government took in 3.1 billion euros more than budgeted - and spent 6 billion euros less.

Less expenditure on interest and pensions
Payments amounted to a total of 109.2 billion euros, falling short of the federal budget for 2023 by six billion euros or 5.2 percent. One billion was due to lower interest payments, 0.7 billion to lower payments to the pension insurance scheme and an improved labor market situation. The ministries spent a total of 4.1 billion less. This sum is mainly due to lower funding requirements for economic development (primarily green transformation and investment premium) and various guarantee payments by the COFAG financing agency (coronavirus aid).

At the same time, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) took in 3.1 billion more. The Maastricht deficit is not yet available because the figures from the provinces and municipalities are still missing. A deficit of 2.9 percent of GDP was budgeted, which would be only just below the Maastricht target of three percent.

Hopes for a fall in inflation
Finance Minister Brunner, who has had to listen to a lot of criticism from experts such as the head of the Fiscal Council Christoph Badelt for his current budget, once again defends himself with the times of crisis. "The crises of recent years have of course also left their mark on the annual results, but it is still positive if less had to be spent at the end of the year."

The crises of recent years have of course also left their mark on the annual result.

Finanzminister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP)

Brunner hopes that the record inflation will fall permanently. The drop to 4.5 percent makes him optimistic and is a sign that the positive trend is continuing, according to the Finance Minister.