| Zusammenfassung: | According to the draft federal budget for 2012, the general government deficit in the Maastricht definition is to be reduced to 3.2 percent of GDP; the debt-to-GDP ratio will move further up to 74.6 percent. The share of transfers, including retirement payments, in total federal expenditure is rising over the medium term. Revenues are most buoyant from wage and assessed income tax, from corporate tax and from capital gains tax. What is still missing is the integration of fiscal policy into a comprehensive strategy in support of economic growth, which would focus public investment on priorities of the future (education, research, universities, environmental protection, child care) and adjust the tax structure in a revenue-neutral way to promote growth and employment.
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