The incomes of the local budget didn’t decrease following the coming into force of the Law on Local Public Finances on January 1, 2015, while the cash transfers from the municipal budget came on time. However, much is yet to be done for the local public authorities to benefit from real financial autonomy, mayor of Bubuieci commune of Chisinau municipality Ion Saranuta said in a program on the public station Radio Moldova. Bubuieci was among the 18 communes where the aforementioned law was implemented on a trial basis last year, IPN reports.

“There are different institutions managed by ministries or other central bodies in our commune. These do not pay the realty tax into the local budget. We also have 24 hectares of land managed by the company “Apa-Canal” and earn no money from this land. The new law stimulates the mayor’s offices to increase the tax base and to identify new sources of income. But we cannot find such sources at a time when the people’s incomes are low, while the property wasn’t decentralized,” stated Ion Saranuta.

Mayor of Festelita, Stefan Voda Nicolae Tudoreanu said the property tax (realty and land tax) should play a greater role in forming the local budgets and the taxing of real estate in rural areas according to the market value should no longer be delayed.

Manager of the Joint Integrated Local Development Program Mihai Roscovan said the draft law on the delimitation of public property is ready and is to be adopted by Parliament. This law will create conditions for guaranteeing the rights of the local public authorities. Only 15% of the mayor’s offices reported declines in incomes after the Law on Local Public Finances came into force. “Time is yet needed for the local public authorities to realize that they should identify new sources of income and should demand registering all the possessions so that money could come into the local budgets,” he stated.

Veaceslav Bulat, expert of the Joint Integrated Local Development Program, said the 18 mayor’s offices where the new system of financing was piloted last year managed to increase the own budget incomes by 36%.

The Law on Local Public Finances introduces changes as regards the amounts that can be transferred to the local public authorities and the method of transferring money. It allows the local public authorities to set the development priorities at local level and to decide independently what amounts they need to finance the services provided for the population.