Tomasz Krzywański | In Principle

The proposed Retail Sales Tax Act was announced in January and was the subject of much debate and many revisions. Finally the President of Poland signed the act into law on 30 July 2016, introducing an entirely new type of tax into the Polish fiscal system. It will enter into force on 1 September 2016. Who will be subject to the retail sales tax, what will be the amount of the tax, and how will it be paid?

Introduction of the OECD’s common standard for automatic exchange of financial information, as well as worldwide enforcement of FATCA by the United States, means that structures previously offering confidentiality will now be affected by the mandatory international system of exchange of tax information. This applies in particular to trusts and foundations.

Benjamin Franklin said nothing is certain but death and taxes. For heirs, the latter can be a consequence of the former. Lawmakers have made certain that the passage of time does not discharge tax obligations connected with an inheritance even decades into the past. Tax obligations can be revived as a result of certain events provided by law.

There is divergence in the case law on whether the percentage rate that should be applied in setting the amount of inheritance tax is the rate in force on the date the tax obligation accrued or the date when the tax authority issues the decision setting the amount of the tax.

New rules on heirs’ liability for decedents’ debts are the most significant changes in the set of amendments to the Civil Code and the Civil Procedure Code, among other acts, effective 18 October 2015.

In recent years, EU law has been generally the route through which Western models and ideas have been introduced into Polish law. Europe has decidedly much more to offer us, but with regard to certain legal institutions, we have to reach out for them by ourselves. One of them, which is ever more boldly knocking on our door, is a concept of trust. Will it be greeted in Poland with joy?

Work is underway in the Parliament on a government bill to amend the Civil Code and the Civil Procedure Code in a way that would significantly modify the rules for heirs’ liability for debts inherited from the decedent. The first reading of the bill has already been held and it is expected to be approved by the Sejm soon.

In deciding whether to accept an inheritance, either where there is no will or on the basis of a will, it is worth remembering that a successor who inherits an estate assumes rights, as well as liabilities of a deceased existing at the moment of death.