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The crown pandemic and the implementation of tax reform are leaving their mark on the budget. With the implementation of the action plans, a visible improvement in the financial situation has started in recent years, CFO Roland Heim (CVP) said Tuesday in Solothurn. But the implementation of the tax reform and the AHV (Staf) reform lead to lower tax revenues.
In addition, there would be the effects of the corona pandemic, which would still be felt in the next year, for example, through higher health costs and lower tax revenues, Heim noted.
The governing council forecasts a deficit of 24.2 million francs with income and expenses of about 2.3 billion francs each. The budget approved by the Cantonal Council for the current year shows a deficit of CHF 10.4 million.
Lower investment
The planned net investments are 113.9 million francs, 23.5 percent less than this year. Net debt increases by CHF 48.5 million to CHF 1,466 billion. The debt per inhabitant is 5,230 francs. Like every year, the canton is paying CHF 27.3 million to finance the Solothurn Pension Fund (PKSO).
In the 2021 budget, the governing council established a quadrupled profit distribution of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) of 85.3 million francs. The canton will receive 398.8 million francs from the national financial compensation plan (NFA) in the next year.
The governing council foresees cantonal tax losses of 53.5 million Swiss francs. This is also a consequence of the cantonal implementation of the tax proposal (Staf 2020), which among other things brings companies a lower income tax.
No salary increase
State staff and teachers will also not receive more salaries next year. The governing council and staff associations agreed on this in August.
This decision was made in view of the difficult economic situation as a result of the crown pandemic and the comparatively badly affected economy, the governing council writes in its message to the cantonal council.
In its integrated plan of tasks and finances until 2024, the governing council speaks of “considerable risks” for the financial budget of the canton. In addition to additional spending on health care, education and the environment, “considerable fiscal deficits” are to be expected due to the pandemic.
