Germany expects solid finance in face of refugee challenges

The German government said on Thursday that it would raise more funds in coming years than it initially thought and no new borrowing was needed in the face of refugee challenges.

According to the latest calculations, Germany will receive additional 5.2 billion euros (about 5.65 billion U.S. dollars) in taxes in 2015 than it previously estimated in May, raising the total tax revenue to 671.7 billion euros.

The tax revenue will increase year by year and reach 795.6 billion euros in 2020.

"Germany is solidly financed and able to act," said German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, "It has crucial meanings, given the challenges we face."

The German federal government expected 800,000 refugees to enter the country this year. Its ability to cope with the crisis, however, was doubted by local authorities which were scratching their heads for solutions to provide sufficient food and shelters for the suddenly surging migrants.

According to local governments, around 10 billion euros were needed to cover the costs of dealing with the refugee crisis in 2015, another 16 billion euros were needed next year.

Schaeuble, a long-time ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel who has repeatedly reassured Germans that "We will manage this", was confident that the solidarity of German budget would not be affected by the crisis.

"With the help of the surplus this year, in current situation, we can also manage without new debt in 2016," he said.

In its autumn economic forecast released on Thursday, the European Commission said that despite the costs related to the inflow of refugees, the German budget would remain in surplus.

The surplus was expected to rise from 0.3 percent of German gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014 to 0.9 percent of GDP in 2015. Endit