The system of local taxes is obsolete and does not contribute to the strengthening of local financial autonomy - IDIS Viitorul.
These are the results of the study "Modernization of the system of local fees - a basic tool for the growth of local financial autonomy", prepared by the expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives Veaceslav Ionita within the framework of the project "Assessment of the state of local democracy in Moldova". According to the study, local tax revenues have steadily stagnated over the past decade. Thus, the total amount of local fees increased by only 11.8% (from 476 million lei in 2014 to 532 million lei in 2020), while the national public budget revenues increased by 50% over the same period. Local taxes are not indexed annually, and the main payers of local taxes are business entities. According to the analysis, only in Chisinau local taxes have increased by 1.4% annually over the past 8 years, but this increase does not even cover the official inflation rate. Herewith, the share of revenues from local taxes in the overall structure of local budgets is low. As Veaceslav Ionita noted, the current system of local taxes is morally obsolete, no longer meets the expectations of local public authorities and the obligations assumed by Moldova in relations with the Council of Europe. The study shows that all local taxes cover only 2.8% of the total expenditures of local budgets, and their share is decreasing every year, while maintaining the dependence of local public administration on the Ministry of Finance. Meanwhile, local taxes are extremely poorly enforced. At the same time, Ionita notes the significant potential of some local fees, which would allow the local administration to have greater autonomy and escape from the grip of the central authorities. Among them, he named taxes on parking, cleaning, development and street lighting, the potential of which is analyzed in detail in the study.// 19.07.2022- InfoMarket.
