독일 기본법상 주정부에 대한 연방정부의 재정지원제도

Abstract

In Germany, the state government separated from the federal government and was in charge of its own policies, systematically overhauling the infrastructure in the region. These state affairs were carried out by the state on its own income, but the Constitution law stipulates a financial support system in which the federal government could contribute funds to specific state affairs. However, if the federal government provides financial support, it would intervene in state policies, which could distort the federal system itself. The amendment to the Constitution law in 2006 sought to minimize federal intervention in state affairs as the requirements for financial support became stricter in accordance with these principles of the federal system. However, the state government of the former East German system, which had a weak financial foundation, had no choice but to demand financial support from the federal government. As a result, several amendments to the Constitution law since 2009 changed the requirements for federal financial support to state governments, and gradually expanded the federal government’s financial authority. In particular, the amendment of the Constitution law in 2014 enabled the federal and state governments to strengthen their cooperation in higher education, while the amendment of the Constitution law in 2017 provided conditions for confirming detailed statements of financial expenses in the state government. Also, the amendment of the Constitution law in 2019 eased financial support requirements, which led to the federal government’s financial support to the sectors such as the establishment of educational infrastructure, the construction of social public housing, and the expansion of public transportation facilities. Therefore, in this article it reviews the federal government’s financial support for the state government in Germany. The financial support is in the form of other exceptions recognized separately from the delegated administration under section 2 of Article 104a of the Constitution law, which is an exception to the principle of interrelationality under section 1 of Article 104a, and the Financial Assistance Act under section 3 of Article 104a. The federal government financial support, like the other constituent requirements for mixed financing, was initially considered as an exception. In particular, Article 104b, which amended section 4 Article 104a of the Constitution law, is a new provision, and the purpose of the amendment was to limit on the spread of such federal financial support. Thus, the prerequisites for federal financial support under this regulation were more strictly defined. In contrast, according to Article 104c, which was introduced by the revision of the Constitution law in 2019, it enables the federal government to provide the financial support for the state government, including Gemeinde, which had a weak financial base, became possible without the federal government’s legal and administrative authority. In addition, such financial support has been extended not only to the federal government’s continued financial investment in the field of state government and Gemeinde according to Article 104b of the existing Constitution law, but also to the Grants-in-aid for state government and Gemeinde. Such discussions in Germany might differ from those in Korea to grant local governments not only autonomous legislative authority but also autonomous financial authority to local governments in order to establish a decentralized system, but a systematic prior review of joint affairs and financial support between the government and local governments should be made by referring to discussions in Germany rather than by allocating the authority in a one-on-one manner.