Germany's May tax revenues fall by almost 20 pct due to COVID-19

Total tax revenues in Germany fell by 19.9 percent year-on-year in May as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, according to the monthly report of the Federal Ministry of Finance published on Friday.

"The economic effects of the coronavirus crisis and the tax measures taken as a result of this crisis had a significant negative impact on tax revenues in May," said the ministry.

The federal government's taxes even fell by 34.8 percent compared to May 2019, while German states recorded a 14.7-percent decline year-on-year in tax revenues in the month.

The development had also been driven by higher payments to the European Union as well as tax losses incurred by German states and the federal government.

In terms of growth rates, "air traffic tax in particular was affected by a significant slump," the ministry noted. Although travel warnings for most European countries have been lifted last week, the COVID-19 crisis had brought air travel almost to a virtual standstill in Germany.

In the first five months of the year, Germany's total tax revenues fell by 6.3 percent compared with the same period last year. Community taxes, which include, for example, wage tax and tax on sales, fell by 7.5 percent, according to the ministry.