Government budget

The budget includes all of the next financial year, the budget established by legal persons of public law budget revenue and expenditure ( cameral ) or income and expenditure ( accrual accounting ) as well as commitment appropriations, positions, and locations of all administrations and endorsements specific budget. Leading budget places such as federal and state governments, municipalities or their associations, but also public institutions and public corporations achieve their short-term financial planning in a budget.

When German authorities one speaks of a municipal budget, county budget, state budget, federal budget or state budget. For Churches experiments to establish the budget in consultation with the citizens run ( participatory budget ).

Budgets are used as a means of financial planning and internationally in countries and their subdivisions. In Austria, is spoken of financial management, in Switzerland from Budget.

• 5.1 Federal budget
• 5.2 State budgets
• 5.3 Municipal budgets
• 5.4 2012: exposure to ESM

General

The budget is designed to establish and cover the financial requirements of the planning authority, which is likely to be necessary to perform the tasks in the grant period. Budgetary principles are applied to a budget. The principle of truth ( § 9 BHO, BHO § 11 ) requires an accurate as possible computation and estimation based on reliable data, particularly at the household income. Estimates of the economic and tax estimates are the main sources of budgets. A budget generated for the estimated revenue in him merely declaratory effects because must be used as a survey standard extra-budgetary norms ( in particular tax laws or contracts). A budget is at the beginning of the financial management. He needs to be adopted by parliamentary law or the articles and then obtained as an approved budget law force.

Procedure

This procedure from the budget over the budget law to the final public budget is set by law. Act Principles states and municipalities are responsible for the federal level, different, but have matching content on the core issues. Internationally, the same or similar rules are applied.

Budget

The budget is based on the budgetary and financial management. Nature and scope of services to be provided a local authority are determined by the budget. In its formulation and execution is to take account of the requirements of the macroeconomic equilibrium. According to Article 110, paragraph 2 of the Basic Law of the budget before the start of the calendar year for which it is intended to determine, by Act ( or financial regulation at the local level ). This also applies to the budgets of the Länder ( § 1 LHO NRW). Here, the budgetary principle of Vorherigkeit is expressed, which even enjoys constitutional status because of the constitutional scheme. Pay particular attention to are the principles of completeness, budgetary clarity and truth. According to the principle of unity all the expected revenue, expected expenses to be paid and probably required commitment appropriations in a budget are considered. In performance-based plan preparation ( double-entry ) contains the budget a power, success and financial plan. The accounting is done with cost and performance accounting through a result, assets and financial account, supplemented by a performance report ( § 7a LHO ). The universality principle generally applicable ( § 8 LHO ) can be broken in the budget, if there the use of revenues for specific purposes is permitted. An obligation to pay expenses does not go out ( § 3 para 1 LHO ) from the budget; the budget replaces regularly from any payment obligations. The approaches of expenditure in the budget have only the character of an issue authorization for the concerned financial year. The overall budget is composed of the budget overview, the financial review and credit financing plan ( § 13 para 4 Nos 1-3 LHO ).

According to § 3 para 2 HGrG be neither justified nor offset by a budget claims or liabilities. The budget therefore binds only the administrative support, but does not show any external effect ( except for the informational effect). Thus, the budget for a third party is no legal basis on which they can rely on claims or liabilities against the state. A setting in the public sector, for example, from an applicant not be justified by the fact that vacant posts are available in the budget.

Budget Act

The completed budget is part of ( investment ) of a budget law like other laws to go through parliamentary processes. It is a law in the formal sense, because it has come into being in a process that is provided under the Constitution for the enactment of laws. However, the budget law has no substantive law because it unfolds no visibility to the citizen. However, it leads to legal effects in the executive, because the government and administration are bound to the adopted budget law. The Federal Budget Law (Article 110 para 2 GG) does not determine only one included in the budget figures, but contains also the approval of appropriations entered in the budget, so the authorization of the government, these funds for specified in the titles of the budget purposes issue. Such authorization rules are right within the meaning of Article 93 Section 1 No. 2 of the Basic Law and § 76 of the Federal Constitutional Court and can therefore be examined in judicial review as to its compatibility with the Basic Law. Due to the adopted Budget Act, the budget is determined and set the financial management of the next financial year for the government. The Budget Law is a on the basis of constitutional law and permanently applicable budgetary provisions (BHO, LHO ) Come into existence in the legislative process time law, which includes legal standards for the financial management of budget support for a financial year. Time law means that it is not an indefinite period, but only for the financial year contained in it. Also at the state level of the budget shall be adopted by Management Act ( § 1 LHO ).

At the community level, ie the budget law " financial regulation ". It is considered and adopted by the municipal council in public session. Will the financial regulation adopted in a non- duly convened council meeting, it shall be void. This also applies to non-publicly advised and adopted Financial regulations. In addition to this formal nullity households may be invalid even for material reasons. Thus the addendum to the budget of the State of NRW for the financial year 2010 due to high debt unconstitutional ( Article 82 sentence 2 state constitution NRW) and thus annulled because the borrowing exceeds the amount of investment by the Constitutional Court NRW. The court herein also expressed significant concerns, however, that in the budget financed by borrowing reserves are formed that do not lead to expenditures in the budget year.

Household

The Budget as a system of parliamentary law adopted budget forms for the affected accounting offices an authorization to make expenditures and incur obligations as are provided in the home. The expenses have thus constitutive character.

The financial regulation as a normative foundation for local financial sector is a (local ) law in the formal sense, because they mainly administrative bodies ( municipal council, mayor ) binds ( internal effect ), but also by setting local tax rates visibility unfolds. Therefore, it is also the law in the material sense. A statutes are laws that are enacted by a legal person governed by public law within the framework of their legal autonomy conferred with efficacy for their nationals and persons subject. The financial regulation has to fulfill the principle of return period ( § 77 GemO NRW ) has a statutory content ( § 77 para 2 GemO ) and is subject to a prescribed procedure for the adoption ( § 79 GemO ). The financial regulation is limited to the information that is required as the legal basis of the household. These include the municipal revenue and expenditure, broken down by administrative and capital budget, proposed borrowings (loan commitments), maximum amount of cash advances, the total amount of commitment appropriations and tax rates. In the final budget, there may be restrictive or expanding provisions to an approach in the budget, for example, as fencing, blocking entry or transferability of individual budgets are expressed.

Binding administrative

The administration is bound to an approved budget and shall observe him with all budget-related administrative actions and decisions. Expenditure of a certain " title " may only be made for the fact intended purpose (§ 15, § 19, § 20, § 27, § 46 BHO; quality specialty), except that a unilateral or reciprocal cover eligibility is approved. The quantitative specialty, expenditures are limited by the amount of the budgeted funds. Unforeseen and unavoidable expenditure require higher under Article 112 of the Basic Law in the area of the federal budget to the approval of the Federal Minister of Finance. From Article 111 and 112 of the Basic Law provides that expenses may be made only if they have been " found " by a budget law. It follows from the consistency of the provisions of Article 111 and 112 of the Basic Law on the one hand and Article 110, paragraph 2 of the Basic Law on the other hand it must be concluded that the budget law does not apply just a statement, but at the same time, the " authorization" of the reported in the budget, so the contains authorization to the government to spend these funds for purposes specified in the budget. The legal significance of the approaches and their purpose in the titles of the budget is derived from § 1 of the budget law; this statutory provision contains an authorization to spend the amounts referred to in the titles for the specified purposes with them. The budgetary principle of temporary specialty required by the administration that to verausgabende means only during the period for which the budget applies, may be issued. Excluded are expenditures for the transferability either generally ( investment expenditure and expenditure arising from assigned revenue ) or by special declaration is approved in the budget (transferability of expenditure).

Even the most careful estimate in the budget may not prevent deviations occur during its execution. However, to address these deviations flexible, the legislator created the instrument of coverage ability. Presented herein did not allow for budgetary leeway, the establishment of a supplementary budget is required.

Criticism of the budget and of the parliamentary budget law

It is undisputed that the ( constitutional) legislator has a wide margin, to achieve the required by the Federal Constitutional Court of feedback to the represented in Parliament will of the people and an adequate " level of legitimation " of democratic rule. With regard to the effectiveness of the positive budget law and its institutional realization in the domestic economy but effectiveness doubt be expressed in many ways. Two complexes of the budget review can be distinguished.

The first set deals with the preconditions of an effective back-bonding. The strictly representative democracy model of the Basic Law is accused of the state people will in it of most of its legitimate influence on concrete political decisions beraubt.Im context of the budget law aims this critique of the system that a link back to the people's will through the financial instruments into space runs when the views of the the demos are not sufficiently represented in Parliament. The back-bonding model presupposes thinking law that MPs have a close connection to the interests of their parts of the country people. It is necessary to even in the case of rectified political interests maintain a sufficient distance to the government and to exercise effective control can. A functional reconnection requires, therefore, choice and mandate of the representatives of the people to be designed so that they allow an effective content link back to the state people sufficiently. Thus, in addition to the right to vote in Article 21 paragraph 1 GG only pale regulated role of the parties is particularly addressed. Karl Jaspers had already complained in the 1960s that the parties had evolved from " organs of the people" to " organs of the State" and deceptive help to minimize the " effectiveness of the people" demokratiekonterkarierend. In particular, the state population itself seems to be of the view that it has no appreciable influence on politics: In a recent survey, 79 % of respondents were of the opinion that people do not really have " something to say " in Germany. The extent to which the weal and woe, election and re- election of deputies instead depend on their conformity to one's own party or even the government by the people, influences their functionality in the representation and enforcement of specific interests to the government.

The second complex of Budget criticism is about the institutional and procedural design of the power. The implementation of the budget functions ascribed is classified by a strong current in the literature as deficient and, partly responsible for wrong political developments as they come, for example, in the national debt expressed. With regard to the control purpose of the budget law is cited, the factual scope of budget control as well as the legal budget resolution liberty were severely restricted, which reduced the substantive content of the budget law beyond recognition. In addition, the continuation of the deformed constitutionalist imagination to bond quality and the dysfunctional aspect of the budget specialty to deceive in, largely to spill the remaining potential for political-administrative control. The superior general concept of the household economy of the covenant, the cameral accounting and budgeting, is generally accused, whether now unfit to act as a technical basis for managing a modern, complex democratic polity. With regard to the legal budget control tools is argued that it is also not fully developed because of insufficient information processing and the limited amount of information of cameral accounting system. The perceived by the Court of Auditors audit function is in the current legislation is still not solely associated with the Parliament as a legitimate principal and equipped instead with functional independence with an excessive autonomy. The current budget law and instrumentarium is total imputed to its functional potential was largely atrophied. In terms of the actual development of the budget mute functionality of the budget process as a pompous ritual. The budget discussions are therefore described in the literature as a production that is not consistent with the expectations of the actual choices of the parliamentarians. The budget review identifies the constitutional status to the Parliamentary Budget law by a significant " expectation gap " between appearance and functional reality.

Germany

Federal budget

Country budgets

The legal basis for the budget of the federal states is governed by the respective national financial regulations ( LHO ).

The state budget will be adopted in the context of a budget law. State budgets are divided into sections. Sections are hereby i.d.R. formed for the country's parliament, the Prime Minister, the individual ministries, the State Court of Auditors and the general financial administration. In addition, other sections can be set up. A uniform federal structure of country budgets in individual plans do not exist.

The national budgets of the 16 German federal states are currently based (as of financial year 2010), without exception, on the cameral. The federal states of Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse and North Rhine -Westphalia select their budget and accounting system currently, however, the double-entry bookkeeping in order, will be so likely to be found in the medium term at the state level double-entry budgets.

Municipal budgets

In Article 28, paragraph 2, sentence 1 of the Basic Law, the local self -government guarantee is anchored. The core subject matter of the municipal budget system is the fulfillment of tasks. These tasks are derived from the self -government guarantee. At the elementary rights of self -government guarantee for the communities include the municipal financial autonomy and fiscal competence.

In contrast to the federal government and most countries of the vast majority of municipalities in Germany will in future establish the budget not by cameralistic, but after double-entry rules. The municipal budget is divided into the double-entry bookkeeping in the results and the financial budget. These are in turn divided into individual subtotal or partial financial budgets. The budget is a draft establishment plan, possibly accompanied by a household fuse concept.

2012: Exposure to ESM

The Left issued a legal opinion from the Scientific Service of the Bundestag in order which provided that on 5 September 2012. The report sees the budget law in the German Bundestag by the ESM (European Stability Mechanism ) is violated, since a will " possibly immediate and potentially indeterminate liability " for the debts of other states adopted.

Austria

In Austria, the terms financial conduct and budget are common for budgetary and economic leadership.

The Federal Ministry of Finance may (federal, state, local ) govern the extent in agreement with the Court on the shape and structure of the estimates and the accounts of local authorities, as this is necessary for standardization. The estimates and accounts of Regulation ( VRV ) was effective for the financial year 1976 and governs the recognition and postal directory. In the mail directory is a regime under the principles of double-entry bookkeeping provided (Austrian unit of accounts of the Committee for Economic Efficiency ).

Switzerland

In Switzerland, the Budget (target ) is called the budget, while the presentation of financial statements (actual) figures as a bill.

The same structure is always chosen to ensure comparability for the presentation of budget and accounts. Basically, the cantons are in their " state bill" free in the choice of representation. However, there since the end of 70 years, an informal agreement that municipalities and cantons harmonized model with a standardized chart of accounts use (so-called Harmonised Accounting Model of the cantons and municipalities). The actual degree of implementation of this model was about 90 % of the municipalities and cantons, all in 2000. The model is an accrual accounting and budgeting model, ie, it covers the financial transactions with temporal demarcation. Thus, it differs significantly from the cameral model in Germany. It is also always distinguish between a current account / income statement ( with recurring events ) and capital budgeting ( with one-off investment projects). This period - based, as opposed to the balance sheet.

At the federal level, a new accounting model was introduced with effect from 1 January 2007, which also is based on accrual accounting. Guidance form the International Public Sector Accounting Standards ( IPSAS ), departing, however, from those established in individual cases.

As an example of the historical development of a Swiss national budget that of the canton of Solothurn was used. In 1895 this had Canton ( this without the community - households) government revenue of 1.9 million Swiss francs. In 1938 there were 18.1 million francs in 2007 and 1.83 billion francs. This enormous increase in the postwar period was, of course, not only due to inflation, but to clear the larger part by real growth of the economy related.

United States

European Union

Under budget of the European Union, the EU input and output order is understood. The EU also has its own revenue, but in contrast to a state it has no financial sovereignty, that is she has no right to levy taxes and fees. The EU budget is balanced by definition: there is in contrast to levels of government no budget deficit or a surplus. In this case the budget is relatively small compared to the national and regional / local level. 2011, the EU budget volume is measured by the expenditure 126.5 billion euros.

In the European Union budget revenue and expenditure shall be determined annually for the next EU budget year. The budget is in a system of so-called multi-annual financial framework (MFF) involved (formerly: Financial perspective ). The European Union defines the binding financial framework for the budget in a multi -year period. It is agreed on the basis of a proposal from the European Commission by the Council, acting unanimously decides in this case, together with the European Parliament and transferred to a so-called inter-institutional agreement. Since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the MFF is enshrined in Article 312 TFEU. The Council shall act after the MFR in a special legislative procedure, shall unanimously with the consent of the majority of the European Parliament. The current MFR applies to the period from 2007 to 2013. Early 2011, intends to submit a proposal for the period after 2013 the European Commission.