The money paid by the government is based on the net salary and is tax free (I think with so called "Progressionsvorbehalt", which means it increases your tax rate just like any other income, but the tax rate is only applied to the rest of your income that year). Usually salaries are posted/compared based on gross, when you compare jobs/employers, etc. But when talking about government programs, the net is more important, because that is what people based on their family situation (being married, number of kids, etc.) actually get. Otherwise you just talk about how much the government is paying itself.