Social issues, investments in infrastructure and competitiveness are the priority sectors of the 2025 budget project. Photo: Shutterstock

Social issues, investments in infrastructure and competitiveness are the priority sectors of the 2025 budget project. Photo: Shutterstock

The devil is in the detail. To go beyond the broad balances of the draft budget, here are 10 key figures from finance minister Gilles Roth’s speech presenting the draft 2025 budget.

“Setting a course for tomorrow for all.” The 2025 budget extends the ambitions of the Frieden government’s first budget: new impetus, recovery and confidence combined with tax relief, solidarity with the most disadvantaged, an ambitious investment programme, greater efficiency and security. “We’re keeping our sights on tomorrow. A tomorrow for everyone. We want to strengthen Luxembourg and its citizens for the future. To hoist our sails with optimism and confidence. And even if we haven’t yet weathered all the storms, we can see that things are moving in the right direction,” finance minister  (CSV) explained to MPs on 9 October.

Let’s take a look at the key figures associated with the government’s three priority themes: social issues, investment in infrastructure and competitiveness.

“An inclusive and supportive budget”

- 47% of central government spending is on social transfers.

- 15% of the budget is allocated to pension schemes. For 2025, the state’s contribution to the pension fund will be €2.7bn (+5% compared with 2024).

- €2bn will be invested in affordable housing over the period 2025-2028.

- €4.4bn for education. The ministry’s budget will increase by €330m year-on-year.

- 17.4% average reduction in the tax burden since the start of 2024. An emblematic measure in this budget is the tax exemption from 1 January 2025 for the unskilled minimum wage. The gross unskilled minimum wage for over-18s is €2,570.93.

“Substantial investment”

- The equivalent of 4.6% of GDP--or €3.9bn--will be spent on investments in mobility, health and the climate.

- €780m will go to the Rail Fund (+30%), €390m to bus transport, €82m to transport for people with special needs and €53m to school transport.

- €395m will go to the Road Fund, which will reach €480m in 2028.

- €740m for secondary schools over four years.

- €510m of investment programmed in 2025 for the three main funds of the ministry of the environment, climate and biodiversity.

- In order to increase the country’s defence effort to 2% of gross national income (GNI), €792m will be spent in 2025 (+€94m compared with 2024). In addition, €80m will be spent in support of Ukraine.

Competitiveness

- The National Energy and Climate Plan (PNEC) will receive €1.3bn over four years, including €174m from the economy ministry.

- €52m will be invested in the development of business parks in 2025 and €172m over the period 2025-2028.

- €272m for agriculture.

- €3.2bn for the global endowment fund for local authorities, €119m more than in 2024.

- €282m for the digitisation of all government ministries and departments. This sum is supplemented by a budget of €700m for the Government IT Centre (Centre des technologies informatiques de l’État, CTIE).

This article was originally published in .

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