For the third year in a row, the corona pandemic is leaving its mark on the federal budget. The financial department of Ueli Maurer (71) expects a deficit of CHF 4.1 billion for the current year.
The entire Bundesrat was informed of this extrapolation on Wednesday by the Federal Administration of Finance (EFV), as announced by the state government. The forecast is based on the figures up to the end of September.
Corona is to blame
According to the Federal Council, the deficit is mainly due to high extraordinary costs. Much of this was caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The FFA estimates the share of extraordinary corona costs at CHF 6.1 billion.
In its latest projection, the FFA had projected a deficit of CHF 5 billion – based on the figures through the middle of the year. Originally, a deficit of CHF 2.3 billion was budgeted.
Axpo billions
In its announcement, the state government stressed that the level of uncertainty remains high and that it is extremely difficult to predict the true level of extraordinary expenditure.
In extrapolating, the FFA assumes that the CHF 4 billion that the parliament has approved to secure the liquidity of the energy company Axpo will either not be used or will be reimbursed in full. (SDA)