Methodological instrumentarium for understanding the essence of local budget revenues

Abstract

The etymology of budget revenues has been considered from trivial conceptions of their content to understanding them as a diversified resource base of government authorities. Throughout this analysis, a consistent line has been maintained, emphasizing that revenues are instruments for financing the functions and tasks of these authorities, enabling expenditures to take material form. Based on the research and generalization of essential characteristics of local budget revenues, it has been established that they represent a part of the financial resources of certain territories, forming the basis for satisfying local needs. While partially duplicating nationwide requirements, it is emphasized that their specificity is determined by localization and proximity to the residents of these territories. It has been determined that the conceptual foundations of local budget revenues were laid after the Zemstvo reform, which had an irreversible impact on the activities of the first self-governing units. Investigating this issue during the period of 1864–1917, the focus is placed on the fact that the state leadership, unable to handle all of its responsibilities, transferred a portion of them to the local level. A discussion arose regarding the state’s obligation to support the initiatives of local authorities in ensuring budget self-sufficiency; however, the state delegated more responsibilities without providing corresponding revenues. It has been clarified that the development of scientific views on the essence of local budget revenues and the characteristics of their types during the Soviet period occurred under the influence of the decline of the science of local finance. During that time, budget revenues were considered state revenues, viewed through the prism of their types, and were supplementary in nature. Contradictions were identified in the development of the subject of study, particularly concerning the divergence between tax and non-tax components of budget revenues, the excessive influence of interbudgetary transfers, which made local budgets dependent on the state budget, and the search for alternative revenues that would comply with the principles of legitimacy in fund-raising. The theoretical dominants of local budget revenues in the conditions of Ukraine’s independence have been examined, revealing that they contain local authorities’ own revenues with a shift in focus toward redistributed financial resources. Based on the study of various approaches, the author presents an interpretation of local budget revenues as relations concerning the replenishment of local budgets with their own, redistributed by the state, and borrowed financial resources, which are used by local authorities to fulfill their responsibilities.

На основі використання методів наукового дослідження з’ясовано економічну природу доходів місцевих бюджетів. Встановлено, що концептуальні засади доходів місцевих бюджетів були закладені після Земської реформи, яка мала безповоротний суспільно-політичний, управлінський та економічний вплив на життєдіяльність перших самоврядних одиниць. Досліджено розвиток наукових поглядів щодо сутності доходів місцевих бюджетів і характеристики їх видів у радянський період, який відбувався під впливом занепаду науки про місцеві фінанси. У той час ними вважали доходи держави та вони мали доповнюючий характер. Розглянуто теоретичні домінанти дохідної бази місцевих бюджетів в умовах незалежності України й встановлено, що вони містять власні доходи місцевої влади зі зміщенням акцентів на перерозподілені фінансові ресурси.