The Liberal Party’s candidate for mayor of Chisinau Valeriu Munteanu suggests that the taxes paid by the inhabitants of the capital city should remain in the municipal budget and should not be managed by the Government. ATU Gagauzia is an example in this regard as all the income taxes paid by private individuals and legal entities, the VAT and excise duties there remain in Comrat. In a news conference given alongside Liberal MPs, Valeriu Munteanu said the Liberal Party will propose a bill to amend the Law on Local Public Finances, IPN reports.
The candidate said that compared with the situation in Comrat, the citizens of Chisinau are hostage of political interests. “Chisinau is the only capital in Europe that can use only 3% of the 4 billion lei available in the budget of Chisinau municipality. The rest is intended for current costs,” stated Valeriu Munteanu.
According to him, Chisinau in 2017 collected 10 billion lei, but the municipal budget is of 4 billion lei only. “Six billion lei is taken by the Government for own needs and, regrettably, is distributed according to political criteria. Those who can bend deeper before the Democratic Party and personally before Mister Plahotniuc receive more money,” stated Valeriu Munteanu, adding the European Charter of Local Self-Government is grossly violated in this case.
The candidate noted the given bill is a start in the Liberals’ efforts to resize local public finances so as to enable the city to develop in the medium and long runs. “Otherwise, Chisinau will degrade further and the political class in Moldova will be able to intervene more in the management of the funds taken from the pockets of the inhabitants of Chisinau and used strictly for political and electoral purposes,” said Valeriu Munteanu.
Liberal MP Roman Botan said the proposed bill confirms the necessity of observing the European Charter of Local Self-Government on the financial dimension, which is an essential condition for the administrative decentralization. The local public authorities have sufficient instruments for the funds to be managed correctly and efficiently to develop the local communities.
