A budget comprises all the income and expenditure of a country (or a city or municipality or state). A government draws up a budget plan to gain a clear idea of what money it will take in and spend. This plan lists all expected income and expenses. It is in force for a certain period of time, mostly one year. Expected income includes taxes, profits from the sale of state property and proceeds from interest and other business deals. This income is balanced by necessary and planned expenditures, such as personnel costs and costs for building new roads or environmental protection. Income is compared with expenditure, and then it is decided what new plans (investments) can be carried out with the available money. The ministry of finance is in charge of the national budget. The national budget (mostly we say simply “budget”) in Germany has to be approved by the parliament, the German Bundestag.