Municipalities receive €33 billion via 61 government grants
Heerlen receives €3,468 in government grants per capita. This is over 78 percent more than the national average of €1,947. Bloemendaal, Midden-Delfland and Blaricum are the only municipalities to receive less than €1,000 per capita (€895, €948 and €990 respectively). This information comes from the Atlas of Government Grants 2015, which is published today by COELO, the University of Groningen’s Centre for Research on Local Government Economics.
Heerlen’s weak social structure and its function as a centre for the surrounding area entails higher costs. In addition, houses there are worth less, which means less revenue in property tax. This explains the high amount that is paid to the municipality. In proportion, large municipalities and municipalities in North-East Groningen, North Friesland and South Limburg receive a lot of money from the government (see attached map). The government expects municipalities such as Bloemendaal, Midden-Delfland and Blaricum, on the other hand, to have little in the way of expenses and to be able to collect more money through local taxes.
Dozens of grants
On average, municipalities cover only eight percent of their expenses with local taxes. Central government is their most important source of funding. This year they have received €33 billion from the government via 61 different grants. Six billion euros comes from specific grants (earmarked grants) and 27 billion from the Municipality Fund (gemeentefonds), which municipalities can spend as they see fit. At €14 billion, the general grant is the largest grant within the Municipality Fund. A further 31 decentralization grants (€1 billion), five integration grants (€11 billion) and four other grants (€0.1 billion) are allocated via the Municipality Fund.
More money due to new responsibilities
In comparison with last year, the Municipality Fund has grown by almost 50 percent (€8.5 billion). This growth is partly due to extra funding and partly because specific grants have been scrapped and added to the Municipality Fund. Municipalities have received an extra €4.7 billion from the government this year. This is because they have been assigned new responsibilities (youth care, participation and care for the long-term sick and elderly). The extra funding works out as less than what these new responsibilities cost last year.
More information
Contact: Maarten Allers
For the amounts per municipality, see www.coelo.nl.
K. Kwakkel and M.A. Allers, Atlas rijksuitkeringen aan gemeenten 2015, COELO, Groningen.
Last modified: | 21 June 2022 08.23 a.m. |
More news
-
02 May 2024
Johan Remkes te gast in podcast Leiderschap in Onzekere Tijden Live
Oud-minister en oud-informateur Johan Remkes is op 15 mei te gast in de Podcast Leiderschap In Onzekere Tijden. In de liveopname van de podcastaflevering gaat hij met FEB-hoogleraren Janka Stoker en Harry Garretsen in gesprek over de huidige...
-
29 April 2024
The Maddison Project: New 2023 Update Illuminates Origins of Modern Economic Growth
In a new update of the renowned Maddison Project Database, economic historians shed new light on the genesis of modern economic growth.
-
29 April 2024
Guido Berends and Hylke Dijkstra win FEB Research Awards 2023
The awards for best PhD thesis and best graduate of the research master were presented at the annual PhD conference held on April 18. Guido Berends won the Best PhD Thesis Award 2023 and Hylke Dijkstra won the Research Master Graduate Award 2023.