project | In Principle

According to the government bill to amend the Commercial Companies Code, a parent company could issue binding instructions to a subsidiary if justified by the interest of the corporate group and not barred by specific regulations. The new powers of a parent company are balanced by provisions regulating its liability for injury caused in connection with issuing binding instructions.

In August, the long-awaited bill to amend the Packaging and Packaging Waste Management Act was published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre. The aim of the regulation is to implement the new EU provisions on extended producer responsibility for packaging waste. Below, we present the most important features of the new system and attempt to evaluate them.

Transfer pricing regulations have been included in the package of proposed changes to tax law implementing the political programme known as the Polish Deal. Some of these changes respond to market expectations and deserve applause. Others will complicate taxpayers’ lives. Here we examine the proposed solutions.

The proposed tax changes under the Polish Deal programme enshrine in law a method of calculating the debt financing cost limit which is disadvantageous for taxpayers. They offer a carrot to buyers of shares in the form of a deduction from the tax base of qualified expenditures on the acquisition of shares as part of consolidation relief, but also a stick in the form of a complete ban on treating interest on debt financing obtained from related parties for the acquisition of shares as a tax-deductible cost.

The bill published on 26 July 2021 to amend the Personal Income Tax Act, the Corporate Income Tax Act and certain other acts, known as the Polish Deal, provides payers of personal income tax with a new preference to encourage investments in ventures carrying high economic risk. The proposed relief is intended to apply to certain investments by PIT payers in an alternative investment companies or their subsidiaries.

One of the flagship elements of the political programme called the “Polish Deal” is changes in personal income tax and social insurance contributions. This will lead to a drastic increase in the burden on top earners, especially business operators.

A comprehensive overhaul of Polish tax law is expected. The proposed changes would implement the Law & Justice government’s programme known as the “Polish Deal.” Some of these changes are intended to make the tax system more attractive to new taxpayers. Others are designed to encourage taxpayers who have used optimisation schemes in the past to put their tax affairs in order.

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?

The bill to implement the “Polish Deal” programme would introduce the separate institution of a VAT group, previously unknown in the Polish tax system, enabling consolidation of the tax result within a capital group.

The bill to amend the Personal Income Tax Act, the Corporate Income Tax Act and other acts published on 26 July 2021, known as the “Polish Deal,” includes new rules for tax depreciation of real estate held by real estate companies. The proposed changes could significantly limit the value of tax costs from depreciation.

Work on the amendment of the Investment Funds Act is coming to an end. The changes include extending the range of fees in connection with distribution of participation units in Poland and introducing uniform rules for advertising information provided by funds and detailed rules for protection of investors in the event of cessation of marketing of participation units in foreign funds in Poland.

The Ministry of Finance has proposed regulations allowing for conclusion of an investment agreement (also called a “590 interpretation”) between an investor and a tax authority—an agreement on the tax consequences of a planned or commenced new investment in Poland. It is supposed to constitute a binding opinion for the tax authorities on all tax consequences of the planned investment. Thus the investment agreement should be an effective tool for removing investment barriers in Poland and thus encouraging more investments, including foreign investments. In particular, it will be addressed to foreign entities planning to commence business in Poland, but current taxpayers in Poland will also be able to take advantage of it.