Selected contentiousissues of public finance in polish constitution

Abstract

Transformations in the sphere of public finance in Poland and the new legal regulations which they entail have given rise to a debate on future constitutional solutions concerning this sector. There is also a need for an assessment of the existing constitutional provisions regarding this area. The constitutional aspects of public finance should be studied on the grounds of dogmatic and legal analysis, with reference to the theory of public finance. The budget act (and its main component – the state budget) is a complex and multifaceted document containing provisions based on both cash and accrual approaches, regarding annual and multiannual perspectives alike. The phrase ‘financial plan’, which is used in the literature in reference to the state budget, does not reflect the legal standing of this act as it is, above all, an annual public-law authorisation granted to the government by the parliament. Potential changes in the constitutional provisions on the state budget should aim at developing legislation concerning budget planning principles, such as the principle of completeness, accuracy, balance and others. Theconstitution should also contain modified or altered paragraphs regarding: i. the validity of governmental project of the budget until the budget act is passed (e.g. introduction of budget prorogation), ii. President’s prerogative to shorten the parliamentary term (if a budget is not passed within stipulated time), iii. increasing the budgetary authority of the Senate, iv. the limits of public debt and the possibilities of its financing (laws on state debt, public deficit and its financing are already provided by the EU law), v. the system and financing of local government units (identifying the types of tax revenue of local governments and specifying the range of business activities which they can conduct), vi. issues related to taxation (preferably taking into account not only the legal perspective, but also social and economic ones).