The regional differentiation of financial autonomy of Polish communes

Abstract

The present article is devoted to the problems of financial autonomy of a commune (the Polish term - gmina), which are of crucial importance for the efficient and effective completion of public tasks assigned to local self-government units. The financial autonomy is understood as the freedom to shape revenues in relation to the level of expenditures incurred by the community during the completion of public tasks. The main aim of this article is to determine the level of financial autonomy of Polish communes as well as to examine whether there is a link between the level of socioeconomic development in a particular voivodeship (the Polish term - województwo) and the financial autonomy of the communes situated within their territory. (English) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]