Local government revenue drop in H1

TIRANA, August 4 – Total local government revenues in the first half of this year dropped to 270 million lek or 3.6 percent less than the same period last year, the Finance Ministry said in its local government budget analysis. Meanwhile, tax revenues also fell to 531 million lek, 7.7 percent less than the January-June period in 2009.
Data show local government units collected 7.4 billion lek of revenue in the first half of 2010 of which 85.6 percent in tax revenues and the remaining 14.4 percent in non-tax revenues.
Meanwhile, local government expenditure, municipalities and communes, in the first six months was 14.1 billion lek, 7 percent less than the same period last year, fulfilling their expenditure plan by 92 percent.
Small business tax had the biggest weight with 1.4 billion lek or 22.3 percent of the total, followed by legalization tax with 15.3 percent and cleaning tax with 13 percent of the total.
Municipalities collect 75.7 percent of total revenues followed by communes with 22.7 percent and regional councils with 1.6 percent, said the report.
Municipalities where the majority of population lives collected 5.6 billion lek followed by communes with 1.6 billion lek and regional councils with 122 million lek.
Local government units covered 52.6 percent of their expenditure with their own revenues while 47.4 percent was covered in transfers from central government budget.
Data show municipalities and communes spent more on social protection, pre-university education, housing and healthcare but less on economic issues and general public expenditure during the first half of this year.
The report said the fiscal performance was also affected by failure to approve new budgets by some local government units which had negative effects on investments.
Among the municipalities which did not approve their budgets in the first half of 2010 were also those of Tirana and Fier, the country’s biggest.