BERLIN, May 8 — German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil criticized what he called U.S. President Donald Trump’s “irresponsible war” in the Middle East, saying the resulting energy price shock was weighing on Germany’s economic growth and reducing government tax revenues by billions of euros.
In its latest tax revenue forecast released on Thursday, the German Finance Ministry projected federal tax income for 2026 at 382.1 billion euros (449.7 billion U.S. dollars), around 10 billion euros (11.8 billion U.S. dollars) lower than the forecast in October last year, as the conflict in the Middle East weakens growth prospects of Europe’s largest economy.
Federal tax revenues are also expected to fall short of previous forecasts by billions of euros annually from 2027 through 2030, according to the forecast.
“The estimate shows how severely the war is damaging our economy,” Klingbeil told a press conference presenting the figures.
“Trump’s irresponsible war and the resulting global energy price shock are temporarily slowing the economy’s positive momentum,” he said, adding that Germany would need to continue crisis management efforts amid persistent uncertainty.
Germany has already introduced measures to cushion the impact of rising energy costs, including temporary fuel tax cuts in May and June. Another proposed measure allowing companies to grant employees tax-free bonuses of up to 1,000 euros (1,177 U.S. dollars) to offset elevated inflation was unexpectedly rejected by the Bundesrat, Germany’s upper house of parliament, on Friday.
The coalition government last month slashed its 2026 economic growth forecast to 0.5 percent from 1 percent projected in January, warning that escalating tensions in the Middle East were clouding the country’s fragile recovery outlook. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
