Contribution margin of municipalities grows

The total contribution margin of the municipalities in mainland Finland was EUR 0.5 billion higher in 2017 than in the previous year, according to Statistics Finland.

The annual contribution margin strengthened as the operating expenses declined by 2.1 per cent and tax revenues grew by 2.0 per cent.

According to the estimated data in the 2017 financial statement, the operating expenses of municipalities in mainland Finland without internal items decreased by 2.1 per cent from that in the previous year and amounted to EUR 35.7 billion.

The external operating revenue declined by 5.9 per cent from that in 2016 and amounted to EUR 7.2 billion in 2017. In the 2017 financial statement estimates, the operating margin was EUR -28.2 billion, while in the financial statements for 2016 it was EUR -28.4 billion.

According to the municipalities’ estimates, the tax revenue grew by 2.0 per cent from the year before and amounted to EUR 22.4 billion in 2017.

The central government’s transfers to local governments, in turn, declined 3.3 per cent to EUR 8.5 billion.

The tax funding formed of these two items increased by 0.5 per cent. The tax funding per capita was EUR 5,649 in the 2017 financial statement estimates.

The combined annual contribution margin of municipalities in mainland Finland was EUR 3.2 billion. The margin increased by 18.9 per cent from 2016. In 2017, seven municipalities estimated that their annual contribution margin would remain negative, while in the year before, the annual contribution margin was negative for 14 municipalities.