The Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova (CALM) opposes the limitation of the maximum rates of local fees.
During a press conference on Thursday, the Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova's representatives criticized the Finance Ministry's proposal to limit the maximum limits for local fees, noting that the initiative violates the principles of local autonomy and is at odds with Moldova's commitments to promote democracy at the local level, decentralize and strengthen local autonomy. The Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova's executive director Viorel Furdui noted that under the pretext of caring for the business environment, the government promotes the interests of only certain companies, for example, in the field of gambling, gas stations, etc., and small business remains unprotected. “Out of thousands of economic agents, one complained about too high local fees, and the central government decided to call it“ abuse ”by the local government. Neither the government nor the Ministry of Finance provided an analysis on this issue - which mayoralties are being abused and which economic agents are affected by the high local fees, ”said Viorel Furdui. He also stressed that the central authorities violate the decision of the Constitutional Court, which in 2014 ruled that setting maximum limits for local fees is unconstitutional: the government can establish "rules of the game" - criteria, methodologies, guides, but has no right to restrict the ability of local authorities to the establishment of local fees. The initiative proposed by the Ministry of Finance, as noted in the Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova, will negatively affect local budgets, and local authorities cannot finance socio-economic needs on the ground, including covering their part of the obligations on investment projects implemented in settlements with the support of international donors. “We demand that these amendments to the legislation are not adopted. For over 20 years we have been striving for decentralization and local autonomy, and citizens expect better services and quality of life. The central authorities impose restrictions, and with the problems of citizens and poverty in the country, we end up with meager budgets, ”said the mayors-members of CALM. In protest, on November 27, CALM members will protest in front of the Ministry of Finance and the government, and a flash mob “NO to Limiting Local Tax” has been launched on social networks. As InfoMarket reported earlier, in the draft tax policy for 2021, the Ministry of Finance proposed to limit the maximum limits of local fees and approve their size for a medium-term period of 3 years.// 26.11.2020 — InfoMarket.
