Ekonomiczne Problemy Usług

The article aims at presenting the issue of debt limits on the part of territorial self­government units in Poland and the financial situation of these units in terms of budget deficit and municipal debt in the years 2007-2015 in the context of the most important changes in their economic surroundings. Due to the multi-aspect research area various research methods were made use of to achieve the set objective. The research procedure involved the method of non-reactive research as well as the method of analysing official documents and the historical and comparative method. The economic environment surrounding territorial self-government units is constantly changing and requires appropriate response to the new challenges. Debt limits which are in force for ter­ritorial self-government units are strictly determined by law. By the end of 2013 the debt limit in force had been identical for each unit of territorial self-government. The situation changed with the introduction of individual debt indicators at the beginning of 2014. The increase in the debt incurred by territorial self-government units results from them being assigned new tasks and widened the scope of the tasks performed so far without being provided funds necessary for such purposes. Municipal debt is an essential instrument for improvement in absorption capacity on the part of territorial self-government units in terms of the European Union assistance resources, which have enabled mitigation of a number of unfavourable consequences resulting from the economic downturn, for example a decrease in their own income.