Trade Fair Fee as a Source of Income for the Budgets of Municipalities in Poland on Selected Examples

The public finance system in force in Poland provides for a trade fair fee (Polish - „opłata targowa”) as part of municipalities’ own revenues. The trade fair fee is collected from persons selling at marketplaces located in the municipality. It constitutes own income for the commune’s budget and is an archaic form of public tribute. According to the legal regulations in force in Poland, communes may waive the collection of the exhibition fee, however, there are still many communes collecting it. The assessment of income to the commune budget from the trade fair fee was carried out on the basis of a survey of income to the budget of selected 10 coastal communes in Pomorskie Voivodeship. The selection of coastal municipalities was determined by their specificity in terms of retail trade on markets and squares. This is because the holiday season attracts many tourists and entrepreneurs who sell the goods they offer in the mode of direct retail trade carried out on local markets, streets or squares (often located near the entrance to local beaches). The analysis of income from the fair fee was carried out on the basis of reports on the implementation of the budgets of communes and reports on the income of communes Rb-27s published by commune authorities on the pages of the Public Information Bulletin of a given local government unit. Verification of the revenue of the selected 10 municipalities from the fair fee for 2016-2019 revealed a very low share of the fair fee in the total revenue to the municipalities’ budgets (maximum 1.60% for the Łeba municipality in 2016). Moreover, the communes incur significant costs related to the collection of the trade fair fee, which are connected with the payment of commissions on the collected amounts up to 25% of the total income from the fee.

The results of the research indicate that it would be reasonable for the authorities of the analysed communes to consider abolishing the trade fair fee in their area, as the revenue is small compared to the costs incurred.

The liquidation of the market fee may attract more traders and improve the image of the commune as a facilitator of business activities involving trade in marketplaces.