The Institute of Finance at conference on new solutions for local authorities

Warsaw School of Economics Professor Paweł Felis participated in a panel discussion on local taxes as a representative of the Institute of Finance. The debate took place during a conference with the participation of numerous experts and public administration representatives.

On 23-24 May, the 16th National BGK Conference for Local Government Units was organised in Warsaw. The main topic of the conference was new solutions for local government finance. All debates involving academics, experts and representatives of public administrations focused on this topic.

Speakers at the conference included Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration Paweł Szefernaker, BGK President Beata Daszyńska-Muzyczka, as well as Mayor of Proszowice and Co-Chairman of the Joint Commission of Government and Self-Government Grzegorz Cichy.

One of the thematic blocks – ‘Simplification of local taxes and their collection – reality, dreams, real possibilities’ – was attended by Professor of the Warsaw School of Economics, Paweł Felis, PhD expert at the Institute of Finance. The panel was moderated by Professor Wojciech Morawski, Nicolaus Copernicus University. Other guests in the discussion included: Professor Paweł Smoleń from, Catholic University of Lublin, Beata Rogowska-Rajda, PhD, University of Warsaw, Andrzej Porawski, Director of the Office of the Association of Polish Cities, Adam Kałążny, PhD, Deloitte and Łukasz Rogowski, tax advisor, Szczecin City Hall.

Professor Paweł Felis stressed that the local tax system is too important a segment of the public finance sector to make random and fragmentary changes within its area. It is necessary to construct a model for the sources of municipal tax revenue in Poland. According to the expert, the tax system should be simple, user-friendly, but also fiscally efficient. It is important to bear in mind the economic efficiency of taxation, including the social costs. It appears that the current arrangements generate high costs for the assessment and collection of local taxes.

(photo source: BGK materials)