- The Btw-compensatiefonds (BCF) was established in 2003 to prevent financial inequality in government task execution.
- A recent study commissioned by the Ministry of Finance shows significant administrative burdens for municipalities and provinces.
- The BCF allows municipalities and provinces to reclaim VAT on outsourced services to avoid VAT influencing the decision to outsource or self-execute tasks.
- Surveys were sent to 90 municipalities and all 12 provinces, with responses from 36 municipalities and 8 provinces.
- Municipalities incur an average of €1.46 per resident in personnel costs and €0.05 in other costs for BCF administration.
- Provinces have lower personnel costs, averaging €0.32 per resident, with most work focused on traffic, transport, and nature.
- VAT plays a minimal role in strategic decisions for most municipalities, scoring low compared to other considerations.
- Complex collaborations can increase administrative burdens due to VAT declarations for each participating party.
- In 2023, sampled municipalities declared €1.055 billion in VAT, up from €863 million in 2019, mainly in governance, transport, social domain, and housing.
Source: accountancyvanmorgen.nl
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
