Village heads’ duties include “collecting certain taxes and fees.” The vast majority of village leaders belonging to Bolesławiec Municipality are happy to perform these duties, personally going from house to house. Not without reason: if a resident pays a tax or fee directly to the village head, the latter receives a 5% commission. (If the taxpayer did so at a bank or post office, the village leader would not receive a penny).
On a quarterly basis, village heads’ income from this source ranges from several hundred to as much as several thousand złotys. Both the village heads and the residents are satisfied with this arrangement. The former—for obvious reasons. The latter as well, because it is a great convenience for them. They have already become accustomed to this state of affairs. What is more, for the village head it is also a great opportunity to talk to voters.
Around 5,000 payment orders are issued in Bolesławiec Municipality, of which approximately 1,300 are sent out by the municipal office itself, while village heads distribute the rest. Although not all of them do so. Bożena Długosz of Ocice announced that she would not act as a courier. This year, the village head had more than 400 decisions to distribute. As she explains, she will not do this because Ocice has a Community Center containing the so-called village-head’s office, that is, the village head’s office. Such matters have been handled there for the past three years. However, some village residents do not like this arrangement.
The situation will probably not change, because Bolesławiec Municipality has no legal means of forcing any village head to act as a tax collector. In reality, elections are the only form of verification.
What do you think?