Verband Region Stuttgart: Finances

Transparent budget

The tasks of the Verband Region Stuttgart are diverse. Its funding is correspondingly broad-based. The annual budget breakdown shows exactly what the various funds in the region are used for: Full transparency. Unlike in most cities and municipalities, for example, the regional assembly does not decide on a double budget, but the budget negotiations are conducted and decided on an annual basis.

The largest item in the budget of the Verband Region Stuttgart is traditionally allocated to the transport sector. The Verband Region Stuttgart finances important parts of local transport, the expansion of the S-Bahn network and, to a large extent, the operation of the S-Bahn.

Where money is spent, revenue must also be generated. The Verband Region Stuttgart generates this primarily from two sources: From levies and from other grants (e.g. regionalization funds from the state for the S-Bahn). Funding from the EU, federal and state governments as well as third-party funds also play an important role.

The association collects three levies from the administrative districts and the cities and municipalities in the region:

The general association levy (for the 179 cities and municipalities)

With the exception of local transport, the Verband Region Stuttgart covers all expenses from the association levy collected from the 179 towns and municipalities (Section 22 [1] of the VRS Act). This is determined each year as part of the budget resolution by the regional assembly. Due to challenges such as climate change or a lack of housing and commercial areas, an increasing financial commitment is becoming more and more important. This is reflected in the development of the levy.

Who pays how much?

How high a city or municipality's share of the association levy is depends on its economic strength. You can find a detailed overview here:

Association levy 2024 (PDF)

The transport levy (for the urban and rural districts participating in the VVS)

The transport levy (Section 22 [2] of the Association Act) is collected by the city of Stuttgart and the districts of Böblingen, Esslingen, Ludwigsburg and Rems-Murr, Göppingen and the state capital Stuttgart, which are integrated into the VVS transport and tariff association. Funds from which the entire region benefits: By using this levy, the association ensures that the region has access to a high-quality S-Bahn with attractive frequencies on a well-developed network. In addition, the levy finances the so-called Verbundstufe II. This ensures that the uniform VVS ticket is valid on all buses and trains.

Transport levy: which rural/urban district pays how much? (status for 2023)

City of Stuttgart	20.632 million euros
Böblingen district	13.129 million euros
Esslingen district	16.591 million euros
Göppingen district	6.980 million euros
Ludwigsburg district	16.868 million euros
Rems-Murr district	13.976 million euros
Total	87.905 million euros

The waste levy (for urban and rural districts)

According to Section 7 of the Baden-Württemberg State Waste Act, the Verband Region Stuttgart is responsible for the disposal of mineral waste that is exclusively assigned to landfill class II in accordance with the Waste Disposal Ordinance (e.g. slag or core sand). It is also responsible for the disposal of contaminated excavated soil. However, as the Verband Region Stuttgart does not have any waste treatment facilities, it has transferred this task to a company under private law, namely AVL Abfallverwertungsgesellschaft des Landkreises Ludwigsburg mbH, as permitted by the Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act. Accordingly, this means only a very small financial outlay for the districts. The levy is only 2000 euros. More information on waste management and the association can be found here.

The budget for 2025