Public-Law Basis and Mechanisms for Tax Decentralization in Non-Centralized States

Nowadays, fiscal decentralization and strengthening local governments are welcomed among many countries. Fiscal decentralization is the transfer of expenditure responsibilities and revenue assignments to local governments. Local governments need revenue to implement local policies. In fact, the independence of local governments is directly related to their financial independence. To achieve financial independence, there is a need to define a source of revenue and give authority on how to spend it. Since the most important source of income for governments is tax, tax decentralization plays an important role in decentralizing governments financially. This paper, seeks to answer what public law bases of tax decentralization are and what mechanisms for designing an efficient decentralized tax system in which the principles of tax law are also respected exist. A review of tax decentralization from the perspective of public law shows that tax decentralization is rooted in the principles such as public participation, transparency and public oversight, public interest, equity, conformity and the distribution of tax legislative power, designing an appropriate administrative system and oversight are the most important mechanisms of tax decentralization.