Administration of Taxes and Local Fees by the State Tax Service of the Republic of Moldova

Abstract

Local taxes and fees constitute revenues of local budgets, of an administrative-territorial capacity (villages, cities, municipalities), but the financial resources constituted by local taxes and fees are used for public expenses for the needs of ensuring local budgets. And currently budgets of administrative-territorial units (ATU) have insufficient financial and fiscal potential, local economies facing the inability to generate the necessary amount of revenue. These are limited and do not allow the authorities of local public administration (LPA) to be accountable to the local collective of contributors. The share of own revenues in total budget revenues is relatively modest for most analyzed ATUs: LPA does not have its own important sources of income, and as a result cannot independently decide and solve many of the problems that have arisen. Local taxes and fees generate small amounts, which provide a small percentage of local budget revenues (low fiscal yield of local taxes and fees). Local authorities do not have real rights and tools to influence taxpayers in order to ensure the appropriateness and fullness of the payment of local taxes and fees. In this sense, economic experts and authorities of LPA recommend strengthening the own revenue base at the level of local public authorities, increasing the fiscal yield of local taxes and fees, including by increasing the efficiency of their administration, or request and argue the need to grant local public authorities (level 1 and 2) the freedom to introduce new local taxes and duties or rates additional to existing ones. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53486/cike2023.48; UDC: 336.22:352(478); JEL: H27, H71, H72