Intrinsic feature of financial decentralization and its impact on the formation of local budget’s revenues

Abstract

The article substantiates that the term financial decentralization remains insufficiently defined in the studies of Ukrainian scientists. In particular, the concepts of “financial decentralization”, “fiscal decentralization”, “budget decentralization” in domestic economic science are used in parallel. At the same time, it is argued that financial decentralization, compared to budget and fiscal ones, is a broader concept, encompassing the entire system of financial interaction between the state and local governments. The analysis of the financial decentralization process in Ukraine is presented. The stages of financial decentralization in Ukraine are distinguished; dynamics of local budget revenues and expenditures in the context of financial decentralization is outlined; efficiency of financial decentralization processes is determined. Characterization of key provisions of the adopted legislation, which became the basis for financial relations transformation in the country and its regions, allowed to identify the stages of financial decentralization process with the definition of time limits: the first stage – the formation of the financial decentralization policy (1991-2000); the second is the convergence of centrifugal processes (2001-2009); the third is the renovation of decentralization processes (2010-2014); the fourth is the financial decentralization activation (since 2015). The analysis of the dynamics indicators of local budgets` revenues showed that over the past five years, the financial decentralization level of local budgets has increased due to changes in the budget and tax legislation, which came into force in 2015 and stimulated local authorities to expand their own revenue bases. At the same time, the paper establishes that the processes of financial decentralization in Ukraine have become irreversible, although they lack the systematic nature.