Michał Nowacki | In Principle

Along with the provisions allowing for establishment of a family foundation, entirely new tax provisions are being introduced, with attractive rules for taxation of asset transfers and foundation activities, but also a slightly too varied patchwork of tax rates.

The new regime is intended to incentivise holding companies to locate in Poland and create a competitive tax environment encouraging Polish businesses to return from foreign jurisdictions. These themes resound from the explanatory memorandum to the bill introducing the “Polish Deal.” But do the proposed provisions actually reflect these ideals? Will the new regime be attractive to any group of taxpayers?

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has announced plans to introduce so-called “Estonian corporate income tax” in Poland and presented the key assumptions of the scheme. If adopted, the reform would come into force from the new year. What are the benefits for taxpayers from this change? Is the Estonian CIT to be introduced into the Polish tax regulations really similar to the original scheme used in Estonia?

Recently we wrote about the planned implementation of the Cooperation Programme, under which selected taxpayers would be given the opportunity to cooperate with the head of the National Treasury Administration on a permanent basis. This cooperation would, among other things, enables taxpayers to reach decisions on tax strategy in consultation with the authority competent for verifying the correctness of the taxpayer’s settlements. Until 26 May 2020, taxpayers may submit comments and suggestions to the Ministry of Finance on selected documents relevant to the programme.

On 28 April 2020 a government bill including the proposed “Anti-Crisis Shield 3.0” was filed with the parliament. One of the proposals is to amend the Film Act to require providers of on-demand audiovisual media services to make quarterly payments to the Polish Film Institute equal to 1.5% of their revenue from fees for delivering content or for transmission of commercial messages, whichever figure is higher in a given payment period. The duty to pay the new “fees” would enter into force on 1 July 2020.

Ministerstwo Rozwoju zapowiedziało, że opracuje projekt specustawy wprowadzającej kompleksowe wsparcie dla przedsiębiorców, których działalność zostanie dotknięta w związku z rozprzestrzenianiem się Covid-19. Nie jest jeszcze znany konkretny kształt tych regulacji, ale zgodnie z zapowiedziami projekt ma trafić na posiedzenie sejmu w dniu 25 marca i zostać wprowadzony z dniem 1 kwietnia.

The draft Act on Resolution of Double Taxation Disputes and Conclusion of Advance Pricing Agreements would introduce a new tax institution, the Cooperation Programme, as part of its implementation of the conception of horizontal monitoring. The Cooperation Programme is intended to enter into force on 1 July 2020.

The Polish government is currently working on a completely new tax regime applicable to income from trading in cryptocurrencies (virtual currencies) for personal income tax and corporate income tax purposes. For PIT purposes, this income is to be taxed as income from cash capital at the rate of 19% regardless of whether the turnover is of a private nature or made in the course of business activity. For CIT purposes, the income from trading in cryptocurrencies will be classified as capital gains. These new rules would apply from 1 January 2019.

The right to claim higher tax costs at 50% has recently been one of the most problematic issues in the relationship between tax authorities and taxpayers. At the beginning of the year this limit was raised twice, but the list of persons entitled to claim such costs was narrowed. Moreover, the tax authorities are consistently doing everything they can to stop taxpayers from taking advantage of this rate. So who is the 50% write-off intended for, and what are the criteria for eligibility?

The Bitcoin exchange rate has been smashing records recently. People who bought this currency at much lower rates may realise significant profits. But the issue of how to tax such income has generated doubts for a long time. A recent change in the statistical classification of trading in Bitcoin has only added to these uncertainties.

Discussion is underway on guidelines for proposed amendments to Poland’s Tax Ordinance. The most important changes proposed include introduction of a tax avoidance clause, safe harbour opinions, and a Tax Avoidance Council.