German tax revenue rose by 5.3% in August

By Maria Martinez

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's federal and state governments' tax revenue rose 5.3% in August compared with the same month last year, the finance ministry said on Friday.

The federal and state governments' tax revenue reached a total of 61.9 billion euros ($68.9 billion) last month, according to the ministry's monthly report.

This follows a 7.9% decline in tax revenues in July.

Despite the volatility in taxes, the trend remains positive. Tax revenue rose by 2.3% in January through August, when compared with the same period last year, and reached 539.79 billion euros.

The German economy unexpectedly contracted 0.1% in the second quarter, showing the continued struggles of the euro zone's biggest economy and spurring recession fears.

"The short-term economic outlook continues to be gloomy," the report said. Inflation continues its downward trend, but core inflation - which excludes volatile items like food and energy -remains high.

In its latest forecast, the German government expects the economy to grow 0.2% this year. The forecast will be updated on Oct. 9.

For the whole of 2024, analysts see tax revenue increasing to 863.68 billion euros, up 4.1% from the previous year, according to the report.

($1 = 0.8979 euros)

(Reporting by Maria Martinez; Editing by Mark Potter)