Formation of Local Budget Revenues in Ukraine in Conditions of Economic Instability: Adaptation to the Challenges of the War and Pandemic

The aim of the article is to analyze the formation of local budget revenues in Ukraine under conditions of economic instability caused by a decade-long war and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to identify tendencies in the adaptation of the budgetary system of territorial communities to crisis challenges. The article examines the transformational processes of local budget revenue formation in Ukraine in the context of prolonged crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale war by the russian federation against Ukraine. It is substantiated that the financial decentralization implemented in Ukraine up to 2020 ensured an increase in the financial autonomy of local self-government bodies and strengthened the budget capacity of territorial communities. At the same time, starting from 2020, under the influence of crises, a reverse tendency can be observed – a decrease in the share of local budgets in the consolidated budget, centralization of financial resources, and a transformation of the role of inter-budget transfers. The study reveals that the tax revenues of local budgets have shown higher resilience to external shocks compared to transfers from the State budget. Special attention is devoted to the dynamics of key budget-forming taxes – personal income tax, single tax, corporate income tax, excise tax, and property taxes. It is analyzed how the State’s anti-crisis policy and changes in the behavior of local economic agents have influenced the filling of local budgets. The article outlines the current challenges associated with the collection of military personal income tax for the State budget, the decline in property tax revenues due to the loss of the tax base, and the changing role of transfers in supporting communities. The conclusion emphasizes the necessity of strengthening the fiscal autonomy of territorial communities and developing tools to adapt local finances to the conditions of prolonged economic instability.