This article diagnoses the use of instruments supporting entrepreneurship by the Podkarpackie Province communes. The main research problem was formulated as follows: Do the instruments of supporting entrepreneurship used by self-government affect the development of economic initiatives in the area of the surveyed communes? We analyzed it in two areas. The first one focuses on the present state, analyzing the quality and directions of actions taken by commune authorities in supporting economic initiatives as well as their results. The second one attempts at pointing the solutions conducive to enterprise development and instruments ensuring their stimulation. The results of the conducted analyses allowed us to assess the effectiveness of the instruments supporting entrepreneurship used by local government units. The main conclusion derived from the research is that the use of fiscal instruments does not constitute the strongest factor in determining the location of economic activity. The use of tax forms of support dependant on the economic situation turns out to be much less important than the use of solutions such as improvement of infrastructure conditions, selection of areas for investment, lease of commune facilities for economic activities, creation of capital back-up comprised of loan funds, as well as implementation of organizational changes aiming at better efficiency of the office.