ИСТИНА

State tax and budget policy serves as one of the tools for developing the territories. According to the Budgetary Code of Russia, only a land tax and a personal property tax are completely received by local budgets. Therefore, a land tax is one of the main income sources for municipalities. However, the collected land tax amounts are low due to incomplete cadastral valuation and underestimated land resources, inefficient collection of payments, and the existence of tax exemptions. In such circumstances, it is essential to define strictly territories of municipal units. The aim of the study is to analyze regional features of the determination of municipal boundaries. This function is assigned to regional authorities and local self-governments. During the 20 century within the territory of Russia boundaries of regions, i.e., modern federal subjects and of intraregional districts changed many times. At the beginning of the 21 century, territorial changes within regions continue associated with local self-government reform. However, even where administrative-territorial units are stable, often the boundaries between them are not fixed either on the ground or in law. As of early 2018, only about half of municipal boundaries and 18% – of settlements have been legalized. The situation varies greatly by regions. The analysis showed that the necessary regulatory frameworks for cadastral works do exist both at the federal and regional level. The main obstacle to the legal fixing of boundaries is scarcity of municipal budgets, since cadastral and land management works should be carried out at the expense of municipalities. As a result, there is a vicious circle: lack of financial resources – lack of cadastral works – inefficient land use – low incomes of local budgets – lack of financial resources. In addition, in some areas, interregional boundaries have not been agreed upon; this makes it difficult to define the territory of bordering municipalities. The specifics of process of municipal boundaries legalization in federal subjects are largely determined by their economic development level, as well as features and problems of land use. However, there are also institutional reasons. To effectively manage land resources at the local level, it is necessary to develop mechanisms for federal support.