Australia

In 2008, the Council of Australian Governments agreed to a new Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations. This agreement increased the financial autonomy of the states, moving from input control to the monitoring of outputs, and rationalising the payments made to the state into five broad areas (health, affordable housing, early childhood and schools, vocational education and training, and disability services). Each of these payment areas are funded by a special purpose payment, distributed to the states on an equal per capita basis (there is no need to adapt the amounts to the needs and costs of each state, as this is done by the Commonwealth Grants Commission). For each of these payment areas, a mutually agreed National Agreement clarifies the roles and responsibilities that will guide the Commonwealth and the states in the delivery of services across the relevant sectors and covers the objectives, outcomes, outputs and performance indicators for each SPP. The performance of all governments in achieving mutually agreed outcomes and benchmarks specified in each SPP is then monitored by the independent COAG Reform Council and publicly reported on an annual basis.

Finland

In the context of the implementation of the EU fiscal compact, the government developed a new steering system for local government finances, to be implemented from 2015. Its aim is to ensure that in the future municipalities’ responsibilities match the available funding. If they are given new responsibilities, either existing ones are to be cut or more funding is to be provided.

Israel

Israel uses a variety of targeted levies to deal with environmental issues. For example, the landfill levy, introduced in 2007, aims to reflect the external costs of this form of waste disposal and make other forms of waste treatment more competitive. Proceeds from the levy are earmarked to finance waste-related developments. This can include helping local authorities establish municipal waste collection points, run education and information systems, and build recycling infrastructure. Environmental levies are also applied to water extraction, quarrying and shipping. In the case of the latter two, these are also linked to dedicated funds (for the restoration of quarries and marine pollution prevention, respectively).

Sweden

The National Reform Programme connected to the Europe 2020 targets emphasis a growth friendly fiscal policy while preserving sound public finances. Returning to surplus is vital for protecting jobs and welfare in a small open economy such as Sweden's. The 290 municipalities throughout Sweden also work on many fronts and within many of their core activities on measures that can be linked to the Europe 2020 objectives. In a majority of regional councils, municipalities have also integrated the targets of the strategy into their operational plans and budgets and defined measurable indicators.