State revenue jumps nearly 10%, yet deficit stays at €339 million
What happened
Luxembourg's central government deficit stands at €339 million after nine months. Revenue rose 9.9%, driven largely by strong results in the financial sector, but spending climbed 8.9%. The figure excludes social security and municipalities.
Why it matters
Spending is growing almost as fast as revenue, so the deficit is not closing. Finance Minister Gilles Roth says he will curb spending next year.
What people said
Gilles Roth said he was "positive but cautious", with "room to cut" spending. "We are not pursuing austerity in Luxembourg," he said. Opposition deputies Franz Fayot of the LSAP and Sam Tanson of the Greens criticised the government for easing the burden on high earners instead of finding new revenue.
Also today
- Around 30 LuxTrust fraud victims have authorised lawyer Marc Theisen to take civil action against Luxembourg banks, which deny any liability. Several suspects have been arrested, but it is unclear whether victims will recover their money.
- A man was kicked and hit in the face with a dog lead in Hunsdorf on Sunday after a row over an unleashed dog, and another was hurt in a scuffle at a football match in Differdange, with both suspects gone before police arrived.
- Authorities in France's Moselle have banned gatherings outside several secondary schools today and tomorrow, after student protests across the country. Some schools in Metz are teaching remotely today.
- Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called a snap election for November 29, after parliament rejected housing relief measures proposed by his minority government.
- The Nobel Medicine Prize goes to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for optogenetics, a technique that uses light to switch nerve cells on and off.
On air
Two giveaways on RTL Today Radio today, because one is never enough. First, raise your horns: win tickets to see Viking metal legends Amon Amarth at Rockhal. Longships not included. And with winter coming, we're giving away a set of winter tyres worth €600, balancing and fitting included. When you hear our Muller Pneus jingle, text us on WhatsApp: "Muller Pneus", your name and a tyre emoji. You're in the draw.
Figure of the day
107 is the age of Pauline Becker-Blasius, Luxembourg's oldest person, who met the Grand Ducal couple at the Joyeuse Entrée in Ehnen on Friday.
- Born in January 1919, five days before Grand Duchess Charlotte came to the throne, she credits hard work, sunshine, cheerful customers and a daily Crémant for her long life. Asked how she is, she replies: "Tiptopp, always happy".
- She has five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. This was not her first brush with royalty: she recalls seeing Grand Duke Guillaume's great-grandmother when she came home from the war.
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