Greenland: Lacks funding for independence

If Greenland were to choose independence from Denmark today, the result would be a strong increase in tax levels, or a dramatic reduction of welfare benefits.

This is what the Chairman of Greeland’s Financial Committee, Torben M. Andersen, confirms to the Greenlandic broadcaster KNR. According to Andersen, having established viable financial independence will be a prerequisite for a potential future independence for Greenland.

Greenland receives an annual deposit of 4.6 billion DKK from the Danish state, which constitutes a sum equal to the total tax and revenue incomes of the Greenlandic Treasury. Financial independence from Denmark would mean that these 4.6 billion DKK would have to be found elsewhere, or an equivalent reduction in spending, Andersen states.

The Chairman of the Financial Council fears that if such a dramatic reduction of the Treasury’s income leads to equally poorer public services and higher tax levels, Greenland will experience a massive brain drain.

The Greenland Self Rule authorities appoint the members of Greenland’s Financial Committee, and its main task is to conduct constant evaluations of the financial cyclical developments and the sustainability of the financial policies that are implemented at all times.

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