Financial equalization of the states
Bavaria pays less – but still the most
January 16, 2024, 2:19 p.m
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Bavaria would like to reorganize the state financial equalization system; a lawsuit is ongoing in Karlsruhe. The economically strong federal state pays in by far the most every year. The latest estimates now assume that it has decreased – but the top position remains by a large margin.
Bavaria’s payments into the financial equalization of the states fell noticeably last year for the first time in a long time – but the Free State still had to fill around half of the entire equalization pot again. This emerges from current calculations by the Bavarian Ministry of Finance.
“According to initial estimates, the Free State will receive around 9.1 billion euros in 2023 – that is again around half of the total compensation volume,” said Bavaria’s Finance Minister Albert Füracker. “Even if the compensation share to be borne by Bavaria has decreased somewhat compared to the previous year, according to initial estimates, it is still high – too high,” said Füracker. The lawsuit before the Federal Constitutional Court is and remains correct and important.
In July, Bavaria filed a lawsuit against the financial equalization with the Federal Constitutional Court. The Free State is calling for new regulations because it has been bearing the greatest burden in the compensation system for years.
According to estimates, the total volume of the equalization of financial strength last year was around 18.3 billion euros – this sum was therefore redistributed between financially strong and financially weaker countries within the complicated equalization system.
Baden-Württemberg in second place
In 2022, Bavaria even had to pay almost 10 billion euros into the compensation pot. The total volume at that time was slightly higher, namely around 18.5 billion euros. In previous years, Bavarian payments into the financial equalization scheme had continued to rise.
Baden-Württemberg was in second place among the donor states in 2022 with almost 4.5 billion euros, followed by Hesse with 3.2 billion euros and Hamburg with 814 million euros. On the recipient side, Berlin received the most money from the state financial equalization with 3.6 billion euros. Saxony followed with 3.3 billion euros.