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  QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF REGIONAL TAX FREEDOM

  This study examines the issues related to the theoretical foundations of the concepts of local own-source revenues, local tax and regional tax freedom and outlines the options for the allocation of taxing powers between the vertical levels of the public sector. It also derives criteria on the basis of which municipal taxes are classified into ... This study examines the issues related to the theoretical foundations of the concepts of local own-source revenues, local tax and regional tax freedom and outlines the options for the allocation of taxing powers between the vertical levels of the public sector. It also derives criteria on the basis of which municipal taxes are classified into three groups defined by the author (exclusively local, typically local and quasi (parallel) local taxes) and highlights the specific characteristics of each of the groups. An analysis is made of the strengths and weaknesses of the highly decentralized version, the highly centralized version, and the mixed model for the allocation of taxing powers between the central and local governments. The study argues that the decentralized division of revenue powers satisfies to the highest degree the requirements for regional financial freedom, identifying the limitations of such a model. The Bulgarian practice in the field of local tax autonomy is investigated and a qualitative assessment of municipal revenue freedom is made. The conclusion is that any tax system that conforms to statutory requirements for enforcing the principles of local self-government and guarantees the local authorities powers in determining the amount of municipal taxes should be considered as a suitable option for settling vertical fiscal relationships. The fact that local tax freedom (autonomy) is a main component of the policy towards fiscal decentralization determines the relevance of the study and its importance in a theoretical-applied aspect. On this basis, tax autonomy of the regions is identified as the object of the current study. The subject of the study are the qualitative parameters of regional revenue freedom and the effects of the different models for the allocation of taxing powers on the object of study. The thesis argued is that local levies and the decentralized allocation of tax revenues, as important components of regional revenue autonomy, are the basis of the policy towards real financial independence of local jurisdictions (including in Bulgaria).

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  TRANSFORMATION TO AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT – CHALLENGES FOR THE IT INDUSTRY

  The purpose of the paper is to analyze and critically evaluate the challenges facing the organizational migration from traditional to agile project management and to propose an organizational framework with conditions for a more successful transformation to Agile in the IT sector. The research thesis states that migrating from traditional to agile ... The purpose of the paper is to analyze and critically evaluate the challenges facing the organizational migration from traditional to agile project management and to propose an organizational framework with conditions for a more successful transformation to Agile in the IT sector. The research thesis states that migrating from traditional to agile project management is a complex organizational innovation that may face multiple barriers and challenges. Overcoming these barriers requires creating appropriate conditions that are relevant to the identified weaknesses and at the same time enforced not in a bureaucratic but flexible way. The tasks of the study are: 1) Clarifying the evolution in project management and key factors and challenges in the transformation from traditional to agile project management; 2) Empirical study of the critical factors for a successful transformation towards agile project management; 3) Formulation of proposals for the necessary conditions and organizational inter-ventions to support the process of migrating to the agile approach. An empirical study was conducted and the factors and challenges in the process of moving to Agile were investigated among respondents from different companies (n=98). On the basis of the findings, key conditions for organizational interventions to be followed to implement an efficient migration to an Agile have been identified.

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  TRENDS IN THE CHANGE OF THE MACROECONOMIC IMBALANCES OF BULGARIA

  The main purpose of the study is to analyze the key trends in the developments of Bulgaria’s macroeconomic imbalances. The analysis of macroeconomic imbalances is extremely important because imbalances in one member state of the European Union (EU) can have a negative impact on other member states in the Union. These imbalances are identified by ... The main purpose of the study is to analyze the key trends in the developments of Bulgaria’s macroeconomic imbalances. The analysis of macroeconomic imbalances is extremely important because imbalances in one member state of the European Union (EU) can have a negative impact on other member states in the Union. These imbalances are identified by the European Commission on the basis of annual Alert Mechanism Reports (ARM) published by it. The first Alert Mechanism Report of 2012 is the initial step in the implementation of a new supervisory procedure for preventing and correcting macroeconomic imbalances – „Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure“ (MIP). The surveillance aimed to prevent and correct macroeconomic imbalances in the MIP framework has been introduced as an important tool in the EU’s economic governance framework. It is accepted as part of the so-called “Six-pack“ of legislative measures to strengthen the EU economic governance, which, among other things, provides for a significant strengthening of the oversight of EU Member States fiscal policies. The surveillance of macroeconomic imbalances in the MIP is part of the European Semester, which adopts an integrated and preventive approach to the EU economic policy challenges aimed at ensuring fiscal sustainability, competitiveness, financial market stability, and economic growth. The present study focuses on the indicators within the MIP, describing the external imbalances and the competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy, and the trends in their change. These indicators are part of a total of 14 main indicators contained in the so-called „MIP Scoreboard“ for macroeconomic imbalances surveillance. The external sector indicators are the following five: 1) Current account balance of the balance of payments; 2) Net international investment position; 3) Real effective exchange rate; 4) Export market share in world exports; 5) Nominal unit labor cost. The units of each of these indicators, the data sources and their statistical domains are presented in the study. For each of the indicators, indicative thresholds are set in the MIP Scoreboard. The period analyzed in the study is from 2010 to 2021, inclusive. This period corresponds to the Alert Mechanism Reports published by the European Commission from 2012 to 2023 inclusive. Emphasis in the present study is placed on the analysis of macroeconomic imbalances in the external sector and competitiveness in the Bulgarian economy. For this purpose, the external sector indicators from the MIP Scoreboard are analyzed in the study. The latter have not been fulfilled by Bulgaria, i.e. they are beyond their indicative thresholds, during the period from 2010 to 2021, inclusive. For these indicators, the European Commission has found that there are external macroeconomic imbalances in Bulgaria during the period under review. In practice, these are the indicators net international investment position, nominal unit labour costs and balance on the current account of the balance of payments. The present study contributes to a more complete interpretation of the quantitative data in the MIP Scoreboard for Bulgaria and the associated assessments of risks to macroeconomic stability in the context of the specifics of the national economy.