The evaluation of the relations between the state budget and the local self‑government budgets (case study of the Slovak Republic)

Abstract

The reform of the public administration, which took place in the conditions of the Slovak Republic, aimed to reduce the dependence of the subjects of territorial self-government on the state. Despite changes in the local and regional funding system, this aim has not been met in full. The state contributes to municipalities not only to carry over the transferred competences, but also for their individual needs. The aim of the paper is to evaluate relations of state budget with the local self-government budgets in the condition of the Slovak Republic in the period 2001-2017. The basis for the analysis were cumulative data for municipalities in the Slovak Republic reported by the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic as part of the results of budget management of cities and municipalities. The analysis revealed the fact that in the comparison of 2001 and 2017, the volume of financial resources received by municipalities from the state budget in the form of special-purpose subsidies increased and they are primarily linked to the transferred competences of municipalities. Despite the fiscal decentralization, municipalities in the Slovak Republic depend on the state budget not only within the tax incomes but also for subsidies.