What must governments provide to demonstrate their legal debt margin?

To demonstrate their legal debt margin, governments need to provide the information necessary to calculate that margin for the current year. The legal debt margin refers to the difference between the statutory debt limit imposed by state constitutions or statutes and the actual outstanding debt of a governmental entity. This calculation requires detailed information on the total available borrowing capacity, outstanding debt, and the limits set by law. By providing this data, governments can ensure transparency regarding their financial health and legal compliance.

Other options, while informative in their own right, do not directly address the specific needs for demonstrating the legal debt margin. A breakdown of departmental expenditures may provide insight into spending habits but does not specifically relate to debt limits. Total income from penalties and fees primarily pertains to revenue generation and does not offer relevant context for calculating a government’s legal debt margin. Similarly, while a report from an independent auditor could validate the financial statements and practices of a government, it does not inherently provide the specific calculations or data needed to illustrate the legal debt margin. Thus, it is the information required for that specific calculation that is pivotal for demonstrating legal debt margin compliance.