The government balance and debt are the main indicators of the state of public finances. The European standards for this are a maximum deficit of 3 percent and a maximum debt of 60 percent of GDP. Due to the exceptional circumstances, the European Commission has temporarily suspended the fiscal rules. Despite the after-effects of the corona crisis and the outbreak of the energy crisis, which led to extra expenditure in 2022, both the balance of income and expenditure and the debt fell further below European standards.
| 2000 | 1.2 | -3.0 |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | -0.4 | -3.0 |
| 2002 | -2.0 | -3.0 |
| 2003 | -3.1 | -3.0 |
| 2004 | -1.8 | -3.0 |
| 2005 | -0.5 | -3.0 |
| 2006 | 0.0 | -3.0 |
| 2007 | -0.2 | -3.0 |
| 2008 | 0.1 | -3.0 |
| 2009 | -5.2 | -3.0 |
| 2010 | -5.3 | -3.0 |
| 2011 | -4.4 | -3.0 |
| 2012 | -3.9 | -3.0 |
| 2013 | -3.0 | -3.0 |
| 2014 | -2.3 | -3.0 |
| 2015 | -1.9 | -3.0 |
| 2016 | 0.1 | -3.0 |
| 2017 | 1.4 | -3.0 |
| 2018 | 1.5 | -3.0 |
| 2019 | 1.8 | -3.0 |
| 2020 | -3.7 | -3.0 |
| 2021* | -2.4 | -3.0 |
| 2022* | 0.0 | -3.0 |
| * provisional figures | ||
Revenue up 10 percent
Government revenues increased by 10 percent last year compared to 2021. This strong increase is fully in line with the 10 percent increase in GDP. Government revenue generally rises and falls with GDP. The income ratio (income expressed as a percentage of GDP) has been slightly above 40 percent of GDP for the past 20 years, with a slight increase in recent years.
Of the 39 millionrd euro in higher revenues 28 millionrd euros from taxes and premiums. The one-off solidarity contribution levied on excess profits of companies in the fossil sector contributed well over 6 miljard euros to this. The increase in other income by 11 miljard euro was mainly due to higher natural gas revenues via the government company Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN).
Revenue from taxes and premiums as a percentage of GDP fell slightly in the past year. This was mainly due to the lower energy tax. The collective tax burden fell by 0.6 percentage point to 38.9 percent in 2022. In recent years, the collective tax burden has actually increased, from 36.5 percent in 2015 to 39.5 percent in 2021.
| 2000 | 36.5 |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 35.2 |
| 2002 | 34.8 |
| 2003 | 34.5 |
| 2004 | 34.5 |
| 2005 | 34.7 |
| 2006 | 35.7 |
| 2007 | 35.2 |
| 2008 | 35.6 |
| 2009 | 34.8 |
| 2010 | 35.2 |
| 2011 | 35.1 |
| 2012 | 35.3 |
| 2013 | 35.8 |
| 2014 | 36.7 |
| 2015 | 36.5 |
| 2016 | 38.0 |
| 2017 | 38.3 |
| 2018 | 38.4 |
| 2019 | 38.8 |
| 2020 | 39.4 |
| 2021* | 39.5 |
| 2022* | 38.9 |
| * provisional figures | |
Less expenditure due to corona, yet more expenditure in 2022
Government expenditure in 2022 increased by 19 billiond euros, or 5 percent. On the one hand, there was less expenditure on corona measures than the year before. This is most clearly visible in the subsidies, which with almost 14 miljard euros decreased. On the other hand, government expenditure increased for various reasons, leading to higher health care expenditure and more expenditure on remuneration of government employees, among other things. Some government measures to help families, companies and institutions through the energy crisis put a heavy burden on the budget.
Income transfers to families thus increased by more than 3 billiond euros as a result of the 190 euros compensation for the energy bill in November and December. The energy allowance for low-income families almost cost 2 millionrd euros. Worth mentioning are the 6 millionrd euro higher taxes paid for 2022. This is due to the taxes that the public company EBN, part of the government sector in the Statistics Netherlands statistics, has to pay to the State on its profits.
| 2000 | 196.9 | 191.5 |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 205.5 | 207.6 |
| 2002 | 208.7 | 218.9 |
| 2003 | 213.4 | 229.2 |
| 2004 | 221.6 | 231.0 |
| 2005 | 232.0 | 234.6 |
| 2006 | 253.4 | 253.6 |
| 2007 | 262.9 | 264.4 |
| 2008 | 282.1 | 281.3 |
| 2009 | 266.7 | 299.3 |
| 2010 | 273.7 | 307.9 |
| 2011 | 277.7 | 306.6 |
| 2012 | 281.4 | 307.0 |
| 2013 | 289.8 | 309.4 |
| 2014 | 294.4 | 309.5 |
| 2015 | 296.1 | 309.5 |
| 2016 | 310.1 | 309.2 |
| 2017 | 323.5 | 313.4 |
| 2018 | 338.9 | 327.2 |
| 2019 | 357.1 | 342.5 |
| 2020 | 351.4 | 381.0 |
| 2021* | 379.3 | 399.6 |
| 2022* | 418.7 | 418.6 |
| * provisional figures | ||
Debt dropped to 51 percent of GDP
Public debt increased by 2022 31 miljard euros, despite the fact that income and expenditure for 2022 were almost in balance. The reason for this is, among other things, that part of the money collected has been deposited in bank accounts and deposits, the balance of which will be well over at the end of 2022. 12 mibillion euros higher than at the end of 2021. The government debt as a percentage of GDP stood at 51.0 percent at the end of 2022. This is 1.5 percentage points lower than at the end of 2021, when the debt-to-GDP ratio was 52.5 percent. This decline was due to the fact that in 2022 GDP rose much faster than debt in euros.
| 2000 | 52.2 | 60.0 |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 49.5 | 60.0 |
| 2002 | 48.9 | 60.0 |
| 2003 | 50.0 | 60.0 |
| 2004 | 50.3 | 60.0 |
| 2005 | 49.8 | 60.0 |
| 2006 | 45.2 | 60.0 |
| 2007 | 43.0 | 60.0 |
| 2008 | 54.7 | 60.0 |
| 2009 | 56.8 | 60.0 |
| 2010 | 59.3 | 60.0 |
| 2011 | 61.7 | 60.0 |
| 2012 | 66.2 | 60.0 |
| 2013 | 67.7 | 60.0 |
| 2014 | 67.9 | 60.0 |
| 2015 | 64.6 | 60.0 |
| 2016 | 61.9 | 60.0 |
| 2017 | 57.0 | 60.0 |
| 2018 | 52.4 | 60.0 |
| 2019 | 48.5 | 60.0 |
| 2020 | 54.7 | 60.0 |
| 2021* | 52.5 | 60.0 |
| 2022* | 51.0 | 60.0 |
| * provisional figures | ||