Purpose: Examine dependencies between the size and the structure of directional household expenditure on consumption and the amount of VAT tax revenue for the state budget in Poland, in connection with the explanation of fluctuations of households' VAT contributions per capita. Design/methodology/approach: The study used the following methods: literature review, methods applied in descriptive statistics, linear models of multiple regression, factor analysis using the method of main components, and a single-factor variance analysis (ANOVA). Detailed analyses were conducted based on own calculations using analytical software SPSS (Predictive Solutions), Statistica and MS Excel calculation sheet. Findings: Our results show: 1) household consumption, understood as incurring expenses to purchase goods and services which takes place in the economy of a state, is the principal creator of state budget revenue based on VAT; 2) the level of VAT revenue from household consumption depends on the financial resources at the households' disposal, the way they spend them and the structure of such expenditure; 3) households are very diverse internally, while the size and structure of their purchases varies in time and is determined by many factors; 4) a diversified rate of VAT on particular goods and services purchased by households has a major impact on the level of state budget revenue from VAT returns; 5) financial transfers to households, which express a variety of social policy instruments applied by the state, including the pro-family policy, result in the increase of the state revenue from VAT; the effectiveness of such transfersboth for the realisation of state policy, as well as the increase of its tax revenuecan be stimulated by the appropriate matrix of VAT rates; 6) the limited availability or the lack of particular statistical data regarding the VAT burden on household expenditure, and the structure of state budget revenue based on VAT in the cross-section of tax rates, decreases analytical potential and the possibilities of drawing conclusions.

The bank in the activities of local government units. Adequate financial resources are needed to enable local government units to carry out their tasks effectively. An important partner of the local goverment units is therefore the Bank, which has a corresponding offer. The aim of the study is to diagnose the extent of cooperation between self-governing units and banks over 30 years of activity of local authorities in Poland, on the basis of financial data that illustrate the extent of their demand for the services provided by banks in the context of their growing range of tasks, including chronologically: the emergence of new levels and self-governing units in 1999; Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004, the JST’s obligation to produce a multiannual financial forecast from 2010 onwards; introduction of an individual debt ceiling for JST from 2014.

The study used the methods of descriptive statistics. Detailed analyses were carried out based on the authors' calculations using MS Excel. Findings: The financial condition of communes in Poland is varied when interpreted in terms of time and spatially, when measured with standard indicators used by, among others, the Ministry of Finance in Poland, and with the measures proposed by the authors, it differs, and therefore the changes in the finances of these units are assessed differently. Also, the variations in the values of the standard indicators do not explicitly indicate the direction of changes of the financial condition of communes. Practical implications: State institutions in their work on the changes in the system of revenue inLGUs in Poland, aimed at adjusting the amounts of the financial resources available to them to the range of tasks allocated for realization. Local authorities in the annually determined amounts of financial resources which they can implement to realize their tasks, having included the burdens resulting from the long-term contractual obligations they are bound by. Originality/Value: Expanding the research on the financial condition of LGUs by approaching this matter through the prism of indicators reflecting the possibilities of local authorities to define the amounts and the directions of their budgetary expenditure.

The study, devoted to the assessment of the financial condition of cities with poviat status (CWPS) in Poland, aims (i) to position cities with poviat status in the structure of local government and (ii) to examine and assess the average financial condition of city with poviat status in Poland in the spatial aspect, using standard measures (measures referring to the budget result, income potential and the amount of expenses) and those of the authors’ (reflecting the possibility of satisfying the needs of the local government community). The study uses the methods of descriptive statistics. Detailed analyses were carried out on the basis of the authors’ own calculations, using an MS Excel spreadsheet, and the calculated measures were presented for two deliberately selected years (2010 and 2019). The analyses present different pictures of the financial conditions: while the values produced by standard measures in 2019 compared to 2010 clearly indicate an improvement in the financial condition of analysed cities in Poland, the values derived from the authors’ measures do not confirm this. Changes in the values of both groups of indicators are spatially diverse. Both groups, however, indicate that there are voivodeships whose financial condition improved more in 2019 compared to 2010 (classical indicators) or deteriorated to a lesser extent (authors’ indicators) than other voivodeships. This applies to the provinces of Western and Central Poland. CWPS in these regions, due to their location and impact in the region, as well as their attractiveness as places of employment doing business: 1) have been better prepared to start new investments and incur further commitments; 2) attract high school and university graduates and investors; 3) have a large stock of real estate, including extensive infrastructure; and 4) are less dependent on transfers from the state budget.