News item | 24-11-2023 | 13:15
Many ministries will spend less money than budgeted in 2023, a total of €4.5 billion. It has not proven possible to implement all plans. There are various reasons for this, such as tightness on the labor market, delayed implementation of projects and less reliance on subsidies. This is stated in the 2023 Autumn Memorandum of Minister Kaag of Finance, which the Council of Ministers has agreed to. The Autumn Memorandum will be presented to the House of Representatives today.
Less income
In addition to the fact that less money was spent this year than budgeted, less money was also received, a total of € 4.3 billion. The cause of this is a decrease in tax and premium receipts. This is mainly due to the disappointing economic growth in the third quarter of 2023 and is reflected in lower consumption (VAT revenues), lower wage income and corporate taxes. In addition, energy tax revenues will decrease due to lower gas consumption.
Deficit and debt
All this creates a deficit in the national budget (EMU balance). The estimate for 2023 is -1.8% of gross domestic product (GDP), a deterioration of 0.2% compared to the balance in the 2024 Budget Memorandum. The estimate of government debt in 2023 is 47.6% gdp. This has remained the same as the estimate from the 2024 Budget Memorandum.
Budget process
This Autumn Memorandum presents the latest status of the 2023 National Budget and provides an update since the 2024 Budget Memorandum. The final balance of income and expenditure for 2023 will be drawn up in the National Financial Annual Report. This will be presented by the cabinet to the House of Representatives on the third Wednesday in May 2024, Accountability Day.