Central government promises to cut down on subsidies to municipalities

Cabinet has approved a draft bill on financing local governments. The proposals in the draft include encouraging municipalities to think of ventures that would enable them to generate revenues. The central government would for this reason, cut down on subsidies to local governments. On the other hand, local governments would have some influence on the personal income taxes collected in their respective regions. The changes are designed to encourage local authorities to participate in developing their regions. Critics of the bill assert it would help richer regions but would seriously hamper development in poor ones that lack the resources to generate their own revenue. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 22) S.M.