Tax Control in Evaluation of Financial Autonomy of Communes in Poland

Abstract

Financial autonomy of local government units in Poland has been guaranteed by constitution but, in practice, as an effect of many factors, local government units cannot fully keep their financial autonomy. Communes (“gminy”), entitled to obtain their own income, mainly from local taxes, have the biggest chance to guarantee a relatively high level of financial autonomy. The subject of this research is the relationship between the income and financial autonomy of Polish communes. The aim of this article is to verify the working hypothesis that according to stabilization of economy, income autonomy of communes in Poland has systematically improved. Research covered all communes in Poland divided into rural, municipal, and municipal-rural communes.