Trade unions and employers presented the first comments on tax changes under the Polish Order during the meeting of the Social Dialogue Council. The social side would like more information on what the additional funds that will go to the health service will be spent on. According to the employers, “the best specialists and competitive companies will lose out on tax changes”.
The plenary session of the Social Dialogue Council was held on Monday. According to the agenda, its subject was the information presented by the Ministry of Finance on the draft act amending the act on personal income tax, the act on corporate income tax and some other acts.
Polish Order – meeting of the Social Dialogue Council
– Public consultations on the project are ongoing and the Social Dialogue Council is a party to these consultations – said the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Finance, Iwona Prószyńska.
During the RDS, NSZZ “Solidarność” presented his comments on the tax changes. – We are positive about the increase in the tax exempt amount to PLN 30,000, but we would like to point out that the inability to deduct the health insurance contribution from the tax significantly reduces the importance of the increase in the exempt amount. In addition, we are counting on more detailed information on what the funds are to be allocated to, which will appear in the health service as a result of changes in taxes. Information that they will go to prophylaxis for people 40+ or finance the removal of limits from visits to specialists is not enough – said Marek Lewandowski, press spokesman of the National Committee of NSZZ “Solidarity”.
He added that Solidarność would like more active public services in terms of training and retraining in the context of exemptions for robotization or the employment of qualified employees. The union also proposes to deduct the union contribution from the tax, as it is in the case of employers.
– We would like to know how the proposed tax changes will affect the family relief, because there have been signals that it may be at risk – Lewandowski said.
He also added that trade unionists support regulations aimed at combating illegal employment and the so-called paying part of your salary under the table. According to the proposal of the Ministry of Finance, after the changes, it will be the employer who will have to fully finance insurance premiums and tax on illegally paid remuneration.
Marek Lewandowski made a reservation that preliminary comments were presented during the plenary session of the RDS on Monday, because social organizations have until the end of August for a full opinion on the proposed changes.
Employers on tax changes in the Polish Lada
On the other hand, representatives of employers – as the Lewiatan Confederation informed in a press release – pointed out that “the planned changes are aimed at increasing redistribution from entrepreneurs and the most qualified employees to the poorest people as well as retirees and pensioners”.
– Organizations of entrepreneurs emphasized that it is not true that the Polish Order is a historic tax reduction, because increasing the tax-free amount does not mean exemption from tax to PLN 30 thousand, but only its reduction to 9 percent, i.e. to the level of non-deductible health premiums. Undoubtedly, entrepreneurs will lose out on the proposed changes, for the vast majority of them the Polish Order is a tax increase by 9 percent – said Przemysław Pruszyński, tax advisor and expert of this organization, quoted in Lewiatan’s communiqué. He added that “the best specialists and competing companies will lose out on tax changes”.
The Lewiatan communiqué also stated that “social partners expressed concern that despite the drastic increase in the health contribution, these funds would not be transferred to health care. The contribution, being an additional tax, would actually cover the loss of budget revenues related to the reduction of the burden on the beneficiaries of the change”.
Polish Order – proposed changes
The Polish Order is a new socio-economic program for the post-pandemic period, endorsed by the parties forming the United Right. Its foundations are 7 percent. GDP for health; tax reduction for 18 million Poles (including the tax-free amount of PLN 30 thousand and raising the tax threshold from PLN 85.5 thousand to PLN 120 thousand), investments that are to generate PLN 500 thousand. new jobs, apartments without own contribution and a house up to 70 sq m. no formalities, and a pension up to PLN 2,500 without tax.
Main photo source: Shutterstock