Despite the fact the apparently income tax is going to remain at the same level, the Polish Government intends to increase the tax base. The draft law is in the Parliament.
Details of the new draft have been presented by representatives of Deloitte during the “tax breakfast”, held on Wednesday 11th October in cooperation
with the Municipality of Goleniów. A conference room of Abena Polska Sp. z o.o. was filled by about fifty presidents of board, finance directors and chief accountants invited by Deloitte. Krzysztof Wojtowicz, Agnieszka Ostrowska and Anna Bernardzik discussed upcoming changes based on the draft which was still subject to a number of corrections. One thing is for certain: income tax
will increase and accountants will have new responsibilities.
The first draft on CIT and PIT, to become effective as of 1st January 2018, was published in July. It marked significant changes in the system, including
the breakdown into sources of income which was unfavourable for businesses.
Some of changes planned will have a major impact on settlements made by investors operating in special economic zones.
Next year, a new law on special economic zones is going to become effective as well. Since provisions of the law have not been consulted with business support institutions, the only information about them comes from pronouncements made
by representatives of the government and the Ministry of Development. The new philosophy for the SEZ is based on the motto of “The entire country is a special economic zone”. It means that an investor is able to apply for the income tax exemption for their planned investment at any location in the country (including private land), for which local planning documents provide for a specific business activity.
In West Pomerania, the exemption from CIT should extend for a period of 12
to 17 years, without the current limitation to 2026. In the case of investment projects implemented at the SEZ according to previous rules, the tax break will take 5 years longer. The SEZ exemption will be available for investors, provided additional quality requirements are met. Designating of funding and creating new jobs will no longer be enough. Preferential treatment is going to be given to jobs of specific quality,
such as those for engineers, jobs with attractive social package, and investment
in selected economic sectors.
The role and scope of SEZ operation is going to change as well. However, they are going to keep their previous responsibilities regarding decisions on providing support to specific investment projects. The Kostrzyn-Słubice Special Economic Zone will continue to provide their services to north-west part of the Westpomeranian Region, including the Municipality of Goleniów.
