subsidy

The Dutch government will announce multiple measures aimed at tackling the housing shortage on Budget Day. A fund of 1 billion euros in subsidies will be created for municipalities starting new building projects, and housing corporations who build new homes will receive up to a billion euros in tax discounts. First-time homeowners may also be exempt from transfer tax, the Volkskrant reports based on sources.

Air quality in Dutch city centers will meet European standards by the end of this year, according to a new prognoses State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven of Infrastructure presented to parliament on Monday. To help achieve this goal, Van Veldhoven is pushing 10 million euros extra into measures to improve air quality in Amsterdam, Arnhem, Eindhoven, Rotterdam and Utrecht, ANP reports.

The government subsidy for making homes more energy efficient, is running low after one year, the Volkskrant reports. The largest part of the subsidy amount is intended for homeowners. That art of the grant is already almost completely up, according to the newspaper.

Only homeowners associations can still claim subsidies. 

Half of The Hague's subsidies are not distributed according to the uniform rules and regulations in place for this purpose, the Court of Auditors in The Hague concluded in a report. The city council is unable to fulfill its supervisory role as it is improperly informed and the council doesn't check whether the subsidy issued is actually used for the intended social goals, according to the report titled "Fair sharing", ANP reports. 

The Dutch hospitals that can offer NIP tests to all pregnant women from April 1st are getting ready for a rush. They expect that half of the about 180 thousand pregnant women in the Netherlands per year will opt for the test, AD reports. Belgian company Gendia is suing the Dutch state for illegal state aid by subsidizing the test, which screens for serious disorders like Down's Syndrome. 

RNW Media in Hilversum is getting rid of two thirds of its employees in a major reorganization that starts in October. A massive 61 of the broadcaster's 91 employees will have to find new employment, including managing director Robert Zaal

A total of 57 law changes will go into effect in 2016. Significant laws will come into play that affect everything from tax payouts, crowd funding & crowd financing, daycare subsidies and even a new language requirements for welfare benefits.

After a decision by the national government to reduce subsidies to households with at least one undocumented resident, the city of Amsterdam says it will help bridge the gap for struggling families. The city says that as of July 1 the Netherlands no longer counts undocumented people as dependents, meaning their expenses do not count in the official calculation of a household's expenses.

An extra 17.8 million euros will be made available for the ongoing actions aimed at fighting youth unemployment in the Netherlands.

Amsterdam is initiating a six-month trial of 425 city-subsidized jobs next year. The goal is for each subsidy to lead to a full-time unsubsidized job, with a third of the subsidies earmarked for young people with limited work experience.

According to an investigation conducted in cooperation with Omroep Brabant, the province of Brabant earned €4.7 billion from energy company Essent in the last 14 years.