Thursday, December 12, 2013

German cities pile up mountain of debt

The number of German cities threatened with bankruptcy has increased over recent years, with the gap between rich and poor areas growing, a study revealed on Tuesday.
Despite the economy performing well and tax receipts flooding into national coffers, many town and city treasuries are bare, according to a study released on Tuesday from accountants Ernst & Young.
One in three large German cities is suffering from a mountain of debt and 11 million Germans live in bankrupt towns and cities, Die Welt newspaper reported.
While some cities such as Stuttgart managed to reduce their debt, others such as Düsseldorf are increasingly in the red. Between 2010 and 2012, the North Rhine-Westphalian city's debt increased by 109 percent to €228 million.
And the total debt of German towns and cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants grew by seven percent over the two years, reaching €47.9 billion.
“Many German cities are de facto bankrupt,” said Hans Peter Busson from Ernst & Young.
Source and full story: The Local (Germany), 10 December 2013

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