Project support is an instrument through which corporations with insufficient investment capacity for their projects can receive financial support from other corporations. This support is financed through a levy on all corporations. The Authority for Housing Corporations (Aw) has issued a HUF assessment (Enforceability, Feasibility, and Fraud Resistance Assessment) based on the ministers proposal. In this HUF assessment, the Aw identifies several possible improvements and points of attention.
The possibility of project support has been in the Housing Act for some time, but so far, no application for project support has ever been submitted. In the ministers proposal for VRO, the conditions for applying for project support are elaborated so that it becomes clearer for corporations when they can apply for project support. Additionally, a variant of project support is introduced that allows corporations to provide tax-free support to fellow corporations.
HUF Assessment
In the HUF assessment on the Btiv modernization project support, the Aw first addresses the opinion that the Aw is asked to provide on the investment costs specified by the corporation and the non-viable part of those costs. For the feasibility of the Aws supervision, it would be better if the regulation is not dependent on the exact amount of these figures, or if further guidelines for determining these amounts are established in the regulation. These amounts are an estimate by the corporation. It is very difficult to objectively determine whether this estimate is correct.
In addition, the Aw asks to consider whether the regulation can still be simplified. This could make the instrument more useful for corporations with insufficient investment capacity, according to the Aw.
Finally, the Aw notes that project support in the proposed form can only contribute limitedly to solving the significant regional financial shortages that financial calculations by the ministry reveal. The Aw proposes to explore other possibilities to help the regions with their financial shortages.
