Jena imposes a budget freeze: 12.5 million euros due to tax losses!

Jena imposes a budget freeze: 12.5 million euros due to tax losses!

Due to a sharp decline in trade tax revenue, the city of Jena is forced to impose a budget freeze of 12.5 million euros. The reason for this is more than worrying: there is a shortfall of around 20 million euros compared to the originally planned income of 99.5 million euros for 2025. This could lead to an annual deficit of around 38 million euros, as Tixio reported.

Administrative budgets, private businesses and smaller investments are particularly affected by this austerity measure. Voluntary services in particular, including local development cooperation and cultural subsidies, will be significantly reduced. However, the city administration has emphasized that it wants to ensure the municipality's ability to act despite the difficult financial situation. Ongoing obligations and central services remain largely unaffected by the ban.

Tax estimates and forecasts

The reasons for this drastic measure can be found in the recent decline in trade tax revenue. According to the publication of the May tax estimate by the Federal Ministry of Finance on May 15, 2025, trade tax revenue in Jena falls significantly short of expectations. Income tax revenue will also decline sharply in the coming years, and a total loss of around €60 million is predicted for the period from 2025 to 2029. The Jena town hall highlights that a similar decline was already noted in 2019.

In addition, a survey on the earnings forecast is underway as part of the city of Jena's first quarterly report, which is intended to provide initial insights into the deterioration in the budget result. If the deviation is over two million euros, restructuring must take place, which is usually achieved via the quarterly report on April 30, 2025.

Budgetary lockdown and its effect

Such a budgetary block is issued by the administration if the income or expenses deviate from the original plan and thus endanger the budget. Let's take a look at the details: Affected expenses may not be incurred during the lockdown, while statutory obligations are left out. This measure does not bring about a complete stop to all spending; rather, priorities are reset and new commitments should be minimized. Loud Municipal Wiki The block can be lifted by the administration or the local council as soon as the threat to the budget balance has been averted.

The city administration hopes to present concrete savings proposals by the end of July. After the summer break, the city council will discuss how to proceed. In the context of this difficult financial situation, Jena will continue to do everything in its power to maintain the most important services in order not to endanger the quality of life in the city.