The Institute of Finance at the conference “Local government finance under crisis conditions” at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin

A panel discussion was held on “Directions of rationalisation of the Polish system of local government finance” during the conference in Lublin organised by the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University and the University of Białystok, in cooperation with the Institute of Finance. The discussion was moderated by an expert from the Institute of Finance, Professor of the Warsaw School of Economics, Paweł Felis, PhD .

The conference took place on 20-21 June 2023 at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. The aim of the event was to exchange experiences and present the results of the latest research on the financial management of Local Government Units. An extremely important part of the conference was a panel discussion, co-organised by the Institute of Finance, focusing primarily on the topic of sources of own revenue and directions for their rationalisation.

“Experts and academics are taking a keen look at potential models for shaping public finances used by local governments. The effects of their work are visible everywhere. It is up to our mayors, commune heads or presidents to do the work of the health and social care units. Local government funds also cover investments in education and infrastructure. Today, the analysis of potential directions that could rationalise certain areas seems to be one of the most important elements of the discussion on public finances”, said Łukasz Chrobak, Director of the Institute of Finance.

The debate with the participation of academia and representatives of government and local administration was preceded by a speech by the Professor of the Warsaw School of Economics Paweł Felis, PhD, expert from the Institute of Finance, who referred to the most important problems and challenges of local government finances. The participants could learn, among other things, about the latest results of research into the impact of recent tax changes on municipal income, carried out on a wide group of local government officials from six voivodeships, including Lubelskie and Masovian.

“A key task should be the creation of a reference model for Local Government Units in Poland. Undoubtedly, what should be taken into consideration are the macroeconomic foundations of the model, the revenue-sharing system, and the rationalisation of the local tax system. However, we may not overlook external and internal conditions” , said Professor of the Warsaw School of Economics, Paweł Felis, PhD .

The conference was held under the patronage of, among others, the Rectors of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin and the University of Białystok, as well as the Mayor of the City of Lublin.