Draft Federal Budget 2007-08: Matching Consolidation With New Spending Priorities

The twin budget 2007-08 implies a decline in federal revenues as percent of GDP to 24 percent by 2008, down by 1.8 percentage points from 2006, and a fall of the expenditure ratio by 2.4 percentage points to 25.1 percent of GDP. The federal government deficit in the Maastricht definition is set to narrow in 2007 to 1.3 percent of GDP and further to 1.2 percent in 2008. Since 2000, there has been a gradual shift in the composition of federal expenditure, with a sustained increase in the share of transfer outlays and, within this category, family-related spending showing the strongest increase. Among federal gross tax revenues, wealth-related taxes are losing importance in a longer-term perspective. At the same time, the share of taxes on labour is rising.