Federal Ministry of Finance (Germany)
| Federal Ministry of Finance | |
|---|---|
| Bundesministerium der Finanzen (BMF) | |
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| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1 January 1879 as the Reichsschatzamt |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Germany |
| Headquarters | Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus, Wilhelmstraße 97 10117 Berlin 52°30′31.31″N 13°23′2.4″E / 52.5086972°N 13.384000°ECoordinates: 52°30′31.31″N 13°23′2.4″E / 52.5086972°N 13.384000°E |
| Employees | 700 |
| Minister responsible | Wolfgang Schäuble, Federal Minister of Finance |
| Agency executives | Steffen Kampeter, Parliamentary State Secretary Hartmut Koschyk, Parliamentary State Secretary Bernard Beus, State Secretary Werner Gatzer, State Secretary Thomas Steffen, State Secretary |
| Website | |
| http://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de | |
The Federal Ministry of Finance (German: Bundesministerium der Finanzen), abbreviated BMF, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Ministry is the supreme federal authority in revenue administration and governs a number of subordinate federal, intermediate, and local authorities such as the Federal Centre for Data Processing and Information Technology (ZIVIT). The Ministry’s wider portfolio includes public-law agencies and corporations such as the Federal Finance Regulator (BaFin) and Real Estate regulatory bodies. The finance minister is the only cabinet minister who can veto a decision of the government if it would lead to additional expenditure. The current minister of finance is Wolfgang Schäuble, of the CDU.
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History [edit]
Following the Unification of Germany in 1871, fiscal policy was predominantly the domain of the various states of Germany. The states were responsible for all direct taxation, and the federal government received indirect contributions from the states. Matters of fiscal policy at the federal level was the responsibility of the Chancellor's Office. However, in 1879, the Imperial Treasury (Reichsschatzamt) was founded. It was initially headed by an Under-Secretary of State, and eventually by a Secretary of State. It became a federal ministry, the Reichsministerium der Finanzen, headed by a federal minister, in 1919, and was renamed the Bundesministerium der Finanzen in 1949.[1]
Since 1999, the Air Ministry Building in Berlin has been the headquarters of the ministry.
Federal Ministers of Finance [edit]
Main article: List of German finance ministers
Political Party: CSU CDU FDP SPD
| Name (Born-Died) |
Party | Term of Office | Chancellor (Cabinet) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fritz Schäffer (1888–1967) |
CSU | 20 September 1949 | 29 October 1957 | Adenauer (I • II) |
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| Franz Etzel (1902–1970) |
CDU | 29 October 1957 | 14 November 1961 | Adenauer (III) |
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| Heinz Starke (1911–2001) |
FDP | 14 November 1961 | 19 November 1962 | Adenauer (IV) |
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| Rolf Dahlgrün (1908–1969) |
FDP | 14 December 1962 | 28 October 1966 | Adenauer (V) Erhard (I • II) |
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| Kurt Schmücker (1919–1996) |
CDU | 8 November 1966 | 30 November 1966 | Erhard (II) |
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| Franz Josef Strauß (1915–1988) |
CSU | 1 December 1966 | 21 October 1969 | Kiesinger (I) |
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| Alex Möller (1903–1985) |
SPD | 22 October 1969 | 13 May 1971 | Brandt (I) |
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| Karl Schiller (1911–1994) |
SPD | 13 May 1971 | 7 July 1972 | ||
| Helmut Schmidt (b. 1918) |
SPD | 7 July 1972 | 1 May 1974 | Brandt (I • II) |
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| Hans Apel (1932–2011) |
SPD | 16 May 1974 | 15 February 1978 | Schmidt (I • II) |
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| Hans Matthöfer (1925–2009) |
SPD | 16 February 1978 | 28 April 1982 | Schmidt (II • III) |
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| Manfred Lahnstein (b. 1937) |
SPD | 28 April 1982 | 1 October 1982 | Schmidt (III) |
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| Gerhard Stoltenberg (1928–2001) |
CDU | 4 October 1982 | 21 April 1989 | Kohl (I • II • III) |
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| Theodor Waigel (b. 1939) |
CSU | 21 April 1989 | 27 October 1998 | Kohl (III • IV • V) |
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| Oskar Lafontaine (b. 1943) |
SPD | 27 October 1998 | 18 March 1999 | Schröder (I) |
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| Hans Eichel (b. 1941) |
SPD | 12 April 1999 | 22 November 2005 | Schröder (I • II) |
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| Peer Steinbrück (b. 1947) |
SPD | 22 November 2005 | 28 October 2009 | Merkel (I) |
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| Wolfgang Schäuble (b. 1942) |
CDU | 28 October 2009 | Incumbent | Merkel (II) |
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Structure and function [edit]
The Finance Ministry is responsible for all aspects of tax and revenue policy in Germany and plays a significant role in European Union policy. It has nine directorates-general:[2]
- Directorate-General Z (Central Services): Deals with all ministerial organizational matters, including human resources, IT, occupational training, management, and administration
- Directorate-General I (Fiscal and Macroeconomic Affairs): Determines the strategic focus of the Ministry’s fiscal policy instruments, forecasts public budget trends and conducts macroeconomic research
- Directorate-General II (Federal Budget): Responsible for drawing up the federal budget by calculating revenue and spending for each government policy area.
- Directorate-General III (Customs and Excise): Responsible for levying customs and excise duties, as well as for monitoring cross-border goods traffic.
- Directorate-General IV (Taxation): Together with the other member states of the EU, the Ministry works to improve coordination among the different systems of taxes.
- Directorate-General V (Financial Relations and Law): Coordinates financial relations between central, regional and local governments. Also responsible for public law, legal affairs, and handling proceedings before Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court and the European courts. Furthermore, this directorate-general deals with settlement of war burdens, compensation for National Socialist injustices, and unresolved property issues in eastern Germany
- Directorate-General VII (Financial Market Policy): Manages the federal debt, including issuance of securities for financial markets and private investors which ensure the budgeted volume of credit is obtained when needed and at market rates. Also responsible for the Bundesbank and the European Central Bank. Shapes the legal framework for financial markets through its capital market policy abd exercises legal supervision over the German financial watchdog agency BaFin.
- Directorate-General VIII (Privatisation): Sets the policy for managing state holdings which is then undertaken by individual government departments. Operates a real estate institute that markets properties that the German Government no longer needs, and operates standardised facility management for federal properties.
- Directorate-General E (European Policy): Responsible for coordinating the German Government’s European economic and financial policy under the EU Treaty.
Subordinate agencies [edit]
The federal ministry directly governs the following agencies:[3]
- Higher federal authorities
- Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt)
- Federal Office of Central Services and Unresolved Property Issues (BADV)
- Federal Equalisation of Burdens Office (BAA)
- Federal Spirits Monopoly Administration (BfB)
- Intermediate and local authorities
- Customs administration
- Customs Criminological Office (ZKA)
- 5 Federal finance offices
- 43 local customs offices
- 8 local customs investigation offices
- Customs administration
- Other agencies
- Centre for Data Processing and Information Technology (ZIVIT)
- Training and Knowledge Centre (BWZ)
Legally independent entities in the Ministry's wider portfolio include:
- Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)
- Financial Market Stabilisation Fund (SoFFin)
- Federal Agency for Financial Market Stabilisation (FMSA)
- Institute for Federal Real Estate (BImA)
- Federal Institute for Special Tasks Arising from Unification (BvS)
- Federal Posts and Telecommunications Agency (BAnst PT)
- Federal Pensions Service for Posts and Telecommunications (BPS-PT)
- Posts and Telecommunications Accident Fund (UKPT)
- Museum Foundation for Posts and Telecommunications (MusStiftPT)
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Die Geschichte des BMF (archived)
- ^ BMF: What We Do (English) retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ BMF: Subordinate Agencies
External links [edit]
- Official website (German)
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