The total volume of state aid handed out in Estonia in 2016 fell by 8%, to EUR 199.6 million, with the share of the total volume of state aid in GDP decreasing by 0.12%, to 0.95%.
A total of EUR 150.9 million in the form of support, or 75.6% of the total volume of state aid, was handed out in 2016, the government’s press office said.
The amount of state aid granted in the form of tax exemptions and tax incentives increased by 29.3% YoY, to EUR 48 million, making up 24% of the total volume of state aid.
State aid handed out in the form of securities totaled EUR 700,000, while aid granted in the form of loans amounted to EUR 30,000.
The volume of “de minimis” aid handed out across all sectors in 2016 totaled EUR 28.7 million, down by 25.4% YoY.
Last year, companies were supported with a total of EUR 228.2 million from EU and Estonian assets, 87.4% of which was made up of state aid.
The largest donor last year, with EUR 60.7 million, was transmission system operator Elering, followed by PRIA, the agricultural registers authority, with approximately EUR 55.1 million. The Ministry of the Environment handed out EUR 18.4 million, Enterprise Estonia EUR 15.8 million, the Information System Authority (RIA) EUR 9.4 million and the Ministry of Culture EUR 7 million in state aid.
Altogether EUR 255.5 million in state aid and “de minimis” aid was handed out in 2015, 84.9% of which consisted of state aid.
Since 2008, the Ministry of Finance has presented an overview to the government of state aid and “de minimis” aid dispersed in Estonia the year before in order to ensure the transparency thereof. (ERR/Business World Magazine)
