The article explores the subject of diversification of local tax policy and its fiscal consequences in Poland in 2007–2019. It focuses on various types of municipalities and tax governance tools they use (establishing tax rates, applying tax exemptions and non-statutory reliefs). The analysed taxes include immovable property taxes (property tax, agricultural tax) and movable property ones (tax on means of transport). Theoretical and empirical analyses confirmed the hypotheses. Polish municipalities utilize tax governance tools on a small scale and their taxation policies differ depending on the category of local tax and the type of municipality.

Podatkowe i niepodatkowe obciążenia i ich wpływ na funkcjonowanie przedsiębiorstw Tax and non-tax burdens and their impact on the functioning of enterprises: The article focuses on the corporate fiscal burdens in Poland. The authors discuss the taxes (on income, sales, property, as well as flat-rate taxation forms) and para-taxes (social and health insurance premiums) which in short-and long-term affect entrepreneurial decisions. The analysis pinpoints the structural elements of taxes which enable various tax strategies. On the basis of the empirical data collected the authors determine as well the average amount of income tax, the scale of use of stimulus instruments, the level of impact of the discussed burdens on the financial results of enterprises, and costs related to property taxes and social insurance.

Problemy efektywnego zarządzania długiem samorządowym Problems of effective local government debt managementThe article presents the issues of effective management of local government debt. Local government debt can be seen as an effect of accumulated budget inequality. The considerations in the article concern the analysis of the sources of financing the activities of local government units and the effectiveness of their use in the context of maintaining an appropriate level of liquidity and meeting statutory standards. For this purpose, financial data of local government units for the years 2010-2020 were examined. The study was enriched with the results of research on the budget policy of municipalities on which the authors worked in previous years. It made it possible to trace the tendencies in the field of debt policy in local government units and to establish the challenges faced by representatives of local government authorities.

This article aims at finding a relationship between the degree of fiscalism and innovation in eleven countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The article uses clustering algorithms to divide countries into groups, with the most similar features in a multidimensional space generated by values of adopted indices, irrespective of fiscalism and innovation. Econometric modelling based on panel data was used to identify directions and the strength of the relationship between different variables. The article finds that fiscalism and innovation performance are closely interrelated. The article uses selected (limited) indices to exhibit the relation between fiscalism and innovation. The impact of tax competition may be used to give a broader perspective on this relation. The implication for the public policy is that high value of tax-to-GDP (gross domestic product) coexists with low labour costs and entrepreneurs’ attitude to investment in innovation. It is among the first articles to exhibit a relation between innovation and fiscalism in the CEE countries. In addition, the article uniquely uses clustering methods combined with the econometric panel model.