Finance

The pandemic is flipping the script on funding local government

Relying on targeted taxes and fees has proved troublesome this year, while property taxes look like a relatively safe bet.

A looming fiscal crisis raises another fear for US cities: State oversight and financial control boards

Municipal finance experts worry the pandemic economy may revive some fraught methods for cutting city budgets.

UK rail operators offer government a choice: Pay up, relax lockdown, or stop services

In normal times, the trains are funded largely via passengers, but now the passengers are staying home.

What's actually in the UK government’s bailout package for Transport for London?

What’s actually in the UK government’s bailout package for Transport for London?

A new disclosure reveals three big takeaways for the future.

Councils are using their reserves to plug funding gaps. Here’s what that means

Business rates are broken. Should we start taxing land?

So the government choose Brexit debate day to quietly finalise its council cuts

How can cities find money to help the homeless?

There are good reasons to reform the business rates system – but it won't save the high street

Scrapping Building Schools for the Future hurt – but it forced Liverpool to rethink its finances

Will Northamptonshire be the last council to go bankrupt? We’ve crunched the numbers