EXAMINATION OF THE CROATIAN UTILITY CHARGE IN THE LIGHT OF THEORETICAL AND NORMATIVE CONCEPTS OF PUBLIC FINANCE LAW

U ovom radu autori analiziraju temeljna obilježja komunalne naknade, kao jednog instrumenta prikupljanja javnih prihoda u Republici Hrvatskoj. Najprije se, polazeći od osnovnih nalaza teorije javnih financija, pokušava dati odgovor na pitanje o pravnoj prirodi komunalne naknade. Nakon davanja zaključka kako je unutar kontinuuma javno-financijskih instrumenata komunalna naknada sličnija klasičnim porezima no korisničkim naknadama, istražuje se koliko je to prepoznato u normativnom okviru hrvatskoga fiskalnog sustava, čiji je temeljni oslonac Opći porezni zakon. Autori upravo u slabostima i nedorečenostima normativnog okvira nalaze jedan od uzroka postojećeg nezadovoljavajućeg stanja pri utvrđivanju i naplati komunalne naknade, što valja uzeti u obzir u budućim raspravama o alternativnim izvorima financiranja javnih potreba, pogotovo s lokalnih razina vlasti. U tom smislu temeljni nalazi analize iz ovog rada mogu se pokazati korisnima i za nositelje fiskalne politike u Republici Hrvatskoj.Authors of the paper examine basic features of the utility charge, which is one specific public revenue instrument in Croatia. They open with a discussion about the legal nature of the utility charge, from the public finance perspective. It is inferred that, with regard to the whole continuum of public revenue instruments, the utility charge is more similar to “general” taxes than user charges. Subsequently, authors explore the extent to which this is recognized within the normative framework of Croatian fiscal system, particularly considering the provisions of the General Tax Act. It is argued that the weaknesses and ambiguities of normative framework give rise to the existing shortfalls in the assessment and collection of utility charge revenues. That has to be taken into account in the future debates about alternative techniques of public financing, especially those relating to the local government. Against this background, main findings of the paper can prove to be valuable for the fiscal policymakers