German tax income increases as economy gathering momentum

Tax income of German government increased in March, as the Europe's largest economy was gathering momentum for accelerating its growth this year, German Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. Total tax revenue of general government, including governments of federal and states, jumped by 7.2 percent to 55.36 billion euros (about 76.4 billion U.S. dollars) in March, compared with the same month of previous year, Finance Ministry said in its monthly report. In the first quarter, tax income amounted to about 140 billion euros, 3.7 percent higher than a year earlier. "The German economy is on the upswing," said the ministry, attributing the tax increase to robust economic expansion, especially industrial and construction activities, amid a mild winter. Earlier this month, German federal government forecasted that German gross domestic product (GDP) would grow by 1.8 percent in 2014, following a slight expansion of 0.4 percent last year. Domestic demand, supported by stable labor market, moderate inflation and low interest rate, was regarded as the main driving force. Finance Ministry said on Tuesday that despite the uncertainties on Ukraine crisis, fragile emerging economies and appreciation of the euro, recent data showed that German enterprises and investors remained optimistic towards the future. German economy would enjoy a broad-based recovery, it said. Official data of GDP growth in the first quarter was scheduled to be released on May 15th. Economists expected that the economic output during the period would grow by 0.6 percent, following the growth of 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.