Local public authorities got independence in setting fees

Chisinau, 15 September /MOLDPRES/- Local public authorities can set their own local taxes and their amount without limits and caps from the Parliament.

Yesterday, the Constitutional Court declared as unconstitutional some provisions of Law No257 of December 16, 2020 on amendment of some normative acts. Constitutional judges have ruled that local authorities are entitled to increase some local taxes, at the appropriate time, in an amount greater than that established by law.

The judges of the Court checked whether the provisions of the above law comply with the provisions of the Constitution, in terms of two aspects: (I) lack of effective and real consultation with local public authorities and their representative associations and (II) violation of local autonomy by introducing maximum quotas for local taxes.

The Constitutional Court considered that setting maximum quotas for local taxes on all administrative-territorial units, without taking into account the economic situation and the specific circumstances of each case could prove ineffective. In this respect, an important aspect is the possibility of missing some revenues to local budgets. As under the Law No257 of 16 December 2020, the Parliament set maximum quotas for local taxes, the discretionary margin of the local administration regarding the determination of the amount of taxes was considerably restricted, the local administration was unable to increase some local taxes, when necessary and appropriate, in an amount greater than that established by law, the judges of the Court determined.