Subsidy expenditures granted by the German federal layer decreased in the 2000 to 2004 period from €39.6 billion to €33.7 billion, measured according to a comprehensive definition of subsidies. In a narrower definition, figures accounted for about €2 billion below that level. From 2005 onwards, subsidy expenditures have again increased. For 2006, €38 billion had been planned (comprehensive definition, resp. €36 billion according to the narrower definition) . The driving forces behind the re-increase of federal subsidy expenditures are payments to the compulsory health insurance system with regard to non-insurance benefits, as far as these can be subsumed under the heading of subsidies. Moreover, the federal layer increased its payments for reintegration of unemployed into the labour market. However, these have been partly balanced by a reduction of expenditures of the Federal Agency for Labour. Assessing budgetary plans for 2007, federal subsidy expenditures can be expected to exceed the preceding year’s level again. The official subsidy report of the federal government for 2006 only includes about one sixth of the subsidy figures presented here. However, the so-called Koch/Steinbrück-subsidy-record covers about 80 per cent of subsidy expenditures.
