Derivation of the fiscal balance from the statement of financial performance and the statement of investments in CHF bn
SURPLUS/DEFICIT FOR THE YEAR
The statement of financial performance ended 2024 with a surplus of 2.1 billion. A deficit of 305 million had been expected in the budget. Current receipts grew at a faster pace than current expenditure (+5.9% and +5.0%, respectively). Most of the jump in receipts was attributable to the major tax receipt items, specifically direct federal tax (profit tax +1.1 bn; income tax +0.9 bn), value added tax (+1.8 bn) and withholding tax (+0.5 bn).
The growth in current expenditure was driven by social welfare expenditure (+2.3 bn) on the one hand. The rise can be explained by much higher AHV expenditure, particularly as a result of the 0.4 percentage point increase in value added tax that was decided as part of the AHV 21 reform, and significantly higher expenditure on individual premium reductions. On the other hand, expenditure in the finances and taxes task area was also up (+1.1 bn), as expenditure concerning the cantons' shares of federal receipts rose considerably due to the surge in receipts.
Accordingly, the financing contribution from the statement of financial performance – self-financing – climbed from 3.4 billion to 4.2 billion. The changes in the valuation of administrative assets edged down to 2.1 billion. These concerned essentially depreciation and amortization, and unrealized profits on financial interests.
NET INVESTMENTS
Net investments decreased year on year to 4.3 billion (-0.5 bn). While investment receipts remained stable at 1.0 billion (-7 mn), investment expenditure fell by 0.5 billion to 5.3 billion. Investment expenditure dropped in various task areas, due not only to regular fluctuations, but also to expenditure spikes the previous year. For example, no further expenditure was incurred in 2024 for the purchase of vaccines and medicinal products to combat COVID-19, and in the area of national defense, the one-time additional expenditure seen in 2023 for the replacement of the state aircraft had a year-on-year impact.
OVERALL FISCAL BALANCE
Self-financing from the statement of financial performance (difference between current receipts and expenditure) was marginally insufficient to finance the planned net investments (difference between investment receipts and investment expenditure). The federal budget ended 2024 with a small financing deficit of 80 million, and thereby achieved an almost balanced financial result for the first time since 2019.
There was a financing surplus of 817 million in the ordinary budget. Overall, ordinary receipts (+5.9%) increased more than ordinary expenditure (+4.0%). The debt brake would have permitted a cyclical deficit of 504 million due to the economic underutilization. As a result, there was a structural surplus of 1.3 billion. In the extraordinary budget, extraordinary payments were once again required for contributions to the cantons for people from Ukraine seeking protection (1.4 bn). However, a 216 million reversal of provisions for COVID-19 testing costs reduced expenses. The extraordinary receipts of 256 million were largely attributable to further proceeds from the sale of RUAG International Holding AG (150 mn). The extraordinary financing deficit therefore amounted to 897 million.
TOTAL FEDERAL INVESTMENTS Around half of the Confederation's investments were made using the federal budget. The other half originated from funds financed via the federal budget. To obtain a comprehensive overview of investing activities, fund investments also have to be taken into account. In 2024, total investments reached 10.9 billion, or around 13% of total federal expenditure. Around 56% of this amount went to transportation infrastructure, partly via the railway infrastructure fund (RIF), partly via the motorway and urban transportation fund (urban transportation share) and partly via the federal budget (deposit in the motorway and urban transportation fund for motorway construction). Additional funding went from the grid supplement fund (GrSF) to promote renewable energies and energy efficiency. |
Data
Detailed data for longer periods are available under the following links:
- Link data portal
- Link Open Government Data
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Last modification 19.03.2025