On Friday, 12 December 2014, a public hearing on local taxes and duties for 2015 was held in the meeting room of Abaclia Local Council, Basarabeasca district. It was attended by most local councillors, the mayor, Mr Victor Niculiță, Ms Aurelia Gnatovschi, head of the Basarabeasca State Tax Inspectorate, and about 40 residents.
IDU experts supported the organisation of the hearing. Public hearings are required by the Law on Public Finance and Budgetary-Fiscal Responsibility no. 181 of 25.07.2014, Article 12(1), under which draft regulations on public finance are subject to public consultation. The hearing was also part of the activities planned under the project “Assistance to target local authorities in strengthening local public finance management capacities”, funded by the UNDP Moldova Joint Integrated Local Development Programme and implemented with the assistance of IDU experts. The project’s beneficiaries are the local authorities of Basarabeasca district.
The purpose of the public hearing was to inform citizens about the formation of next year’s local budget and the setting of local tax and duty rates. The discussion covered local fees for land improvement, for commercial and service units and for advertising devices in the locality, as well as land tax rates (agricultural land, land inside and outside the built-up area), property tax rates (agricultural and residential buildings) and fees for notarial acts and other services provided by the town hall.
Residents were very interested in the topics and actively made proposals and comments. The local budget of Abaclia will be submitted for approval at the Local Council meeting scheduled for 17 December 2014.