Sejm Speaker Szymon Hołownia said on Friday that he had not heard of the idea of introducing a tax on vacant properties being seriously discussed within the coalition. He noted that there was currently an ongoing discussion on how to “solve housing issues.”
Hołownia – also the leader of the ruling Poland 2050 coalition – was asked whether, to his knowledge, a project to introduce a tax on vacant properties was being prepared.
Vacant property tax in Poland?
The Speaker of the Sejm said that the coalition is currently holding a discussion – without the participation of the media – on how to “solve housing issues”, which have become one of the most important topics in the country.
He emphasized that “there are various ideas and various discussions that are ongoing in various government forums”. – I hope that we can expect solutions from our colleagues before we sit down to proceed with the budget, to the budget debate and votes, there is a glimmer of hope that we will succeed – said Hołownia.
As he noted, “each of us has already said a thousand times what our position is and now we need to do the work and show a common solution”. – But I have not heard that this idea was – it is interesting – that it was discussed seriously in the coalition group so far, I have not heard about it – emphasized the Marshal of the Sejm.
Last Saturday, Deputy Minister of Development and Technology Tomasz Lewandowski, during the Left's convention “Housing is a Right, Not a Commodity” in Kraków, announced the start of discussions with local governments on the introduction of a tax on vacant properties.
Such a tax – explained the deputy minister – could be introduced by local governments in areas where the housing market is experiencing the greatest difficulties. In turn, in mid-August, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Krzysztof Paszyk, said that introducing a tax on vacant properties should be taken into consideration.
In Poland, there has been a public discussion for years about the issue of vacant properties and the possible introduction of a tax. This was considered by the Law and Justice government, among others. At the same time, since January, an increased rate of tax on civil law transactions (PCC) has been in force in the case of the purchase of more than five apartments by the same person.
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