Finland Minister Nicolai Wammen (Social Democrats – S) is facing opposition from both the Danish Industry (Dansk Industri – DI) and the trade union 3F in the debate regarding Denmark’s fiscal space leading up to 2030. According to the latest assessment from the Ministry of Finance (Finansministeriet), the estimated fiscal policy space for 2030 is set at 38.5 billion Danish kroner (approximately 5.8 billion USD). This fiscal space reflects the amount of money that politicians can allocate to new political initiatives or tax reductions.

The criticism from both DI and 3F focuses on the government’s lack of precision in its assessments, which they believe do not consider necessary expenses related to welfare and defense, among other areas. Despite this criticism, Nicolai Wammen maintains that the government is transparent in its calculations. “We are incredibly open about what exists,” he states, while expressing surprise at the scale and nature of the debate.

When it comes to the question of how much actual discretionary funds will be available in 2030, the answer is less clear. Wammen refers to the 2030 plan, in which the government has indicated key areas for the allocation of funds, although these areas have not all been specified. For instance, the government plans to increase investments in welfare by at least 32 billion kroner by 2030, but the exact implementation will occur gradually over the years.

Since the initial presentation of the 2030 plan last fall, there have not been significant changes to the structural balance for 2030, even though the fiscal space was adjusted upwards by 11 billion kroner in May. This adjustment was partly due to an improvement in the estimate for structural full-time employment and planned reforms.

In the meantime, the government has allocated six billion kroner from the fiscal space to various initiatives, including entrepreneurship and business development. These funds will be outlined in the upcoming budget proposal (finanslovsudspil) set to be presented this Friday, which will also include a reduction in estate and gift taxes for the transfer of businesses.

The current assessment of the fiscal space is based on the expenditure level for 2025, and both the government and the opposition will propose their views on the specific allocation of funds in the coming years.