It is 13 February 2023. We invite you to the next episode of the “Weekly Tax Review” prepared in cooperation with tax experts in KPMG in Poland.
In today's episode:
The call for applications for co-financing of energy costs for energy-intensive industries began on 09 February 2023.
The aid is intended for businesses operating in industries particularly affected by an increase in the cost of electricity and natural gas.Entrepreneurs will now have 14 days to submit their applications, which can be signed with a qualified electronic signature.
Applications can only be submitted electronically, using the Grant Application Generator, made available on the website of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.
Please note that the schedule for the European Funds for a Modern Economy Program (Polish: Fundusze Europejskie dla Nowoczesnej Gospodarki) was announced on 20 January 2023. More than 40 calls for proposals are scheduled for the first year of EU MFF 2021-2027 funds distribution, with ca. 30 in the form of competitions intended for businesses . The first calls are to be launched as early as February 21.
On 06 February 2023, the act amending the Polish Labour Code and certain other acts was published in the Polish Journal of Laws.
According to the amended provisions, remote work shall mean work rendered fully or partially in a place indicated by the employee and each time approved by the employer. Moreover, the amendment to the Labour Code brings the possibility for employers to subject their employees to a sobriety test. An important change is also the statutory prohibition of admitting to work an employee who is intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. The essential provisions of the act are to enter into force on 21 February 2023.
Moreover, on 08 February 2023, the Lower House of the Polish Parliament passed an act bearing the same name, to supplement the Polish legal framework with regulations set forth by two directives, namely: the Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union and the Directive on work-life balance for parents and carers. The act provides for extending parental leave by two months and introducing a carers' leave of 5 days, along with additional 2 days off for urgent family reasons in order to provide personal care to a relative who needs care due to illness or accident. New provisions are now to be assessed by the Senate. As per the applicable rules, the essential part of the new provisions will enter into force 21 days after promulgation.
Following the meeting held on 07-08 February 2023, the Monetary Policy Council declared that the NBP interest rates would remain unchanged. Consequently, the NBP reference rate is still 6.75%.
According to the press release, the NBP interest rates are as follows:
- Reference rate at 6.75% annually;
- Lombard loan interest rate at 7.25% annually;
- Deposit rate at 6.25% annually;
- Rediscount rate at 6.80% annually;
- Discount rate on bills of exchange at 6.85% annually.
On 08 February 2023, a draft bill amending the Act on the Exchange of Tax Information with other States, and certain other acts was published on the Government Legislation Centre’s website. At the same time, the Ministry announced that public consultations on the bill were launched.
The goal of the bill is to transpose the DAC7 Directive, implementing Model Reporting Rules established by OECD, into national law.
The key amendments it brings include imposing on platform operators the obligation to verify whether the activities facilitated through digital platforms they operate are reportable, enabling a mechanism for exchange of information between Member States, and improving the existing ways of cooperation between state administrations, inter alia, by introducing the possibility of joint audits.
The bill is expected to enter into force on 01 May 2023. Comments on the bill can be submitted until 01 March 2023.
On 07 February 2023, the Ministry of Finance announced that works were underway to issue a decree postponing by 3 months, i.e., until 30 June 2023, both the deadline for submitting the CIT-8 return and the deadline for paying the tax for 2022 shown in annual statements.
The extension would apply to all taxpayers and would cover:
- statements on the amount of income earned (loss suffered) in the tax year;
- payment of the tax due shown in the tax return, or the difference between the tax due on the income shown in this tax return and the sum of advance payments due for the period from the beginning of the year referred to in article 27(1) of the Corporate Income Tax Act.
On 06 February 2023, the Act on Family Foundations was signed by the President. According to the information available on the Government Legislation Centre’s website, the Act is to be published on 23 February 2023 at latest and enter into force 3 months after promulgation. Family foundation is a new concept in Polish law, intended for family businesses. It has been designed to effectively protect family assets and business continuity where the business owner descendants are unwilling to or cannot manage the company directly.
In its judgment dated 07 February 2023 (case file II FSK 1686/20), the Supreme Administrative Court confirmed that vouchers granted employees by employers, entitling to meals, food products or non-alcoholic beverages should be subject to PIT exemption under Article 2(1)(11b) of the PIT Act, while the value of such vouchers shall not be treated as employee’s income under employment relationship subject to personal income tax, being a basis for calculating, withholding and paying advances by the employer, acting as the remitter.
The Court noted that since the legislator provided in the regulations that the employee may prepare a meal on their own, and in the provisions of the tax law the tax legislator provided that the value of these benefits, whether expressed in vouchers or benefits in kind, is exempt from income tax, there is no room for a different interpretation.
Taxpayers submitting their returns for 2022 may apply child relief, which is one of the most popular types of tax credit provided for under the Polish tax regime.
The relief may be applied by parents, legal guardians, and foster families settling their taxes according to the tax scale, providing that:
- Their children are minor;
- Their children are of legal age, but still under 25 and continue their education at school or university, provided that in the previous year their income was not higher than twelve times the amount of the social pension (since 2022, social pension amounts to PLN 1,338.44, which means that the cap on the child's earnings is PLN 16,061.28);
- They receive a carer’s (attendance) allowance or a social pension, regardless of the children's age.
The value of the tax relief depends on the number of children per taxpayer. The maximum amount of the relief for a single child is PLN 1,112.04. For example, if the taxpayer has three children, they may apply the relief in the amount of PLN 1,112.04 for the first and second child and PLN 2,000.04 for the third child. It should be noted, however, that the possibility to apply the relief for a single child is capped by the taxpayer’s income, e.g., the total income of the spouses may not exceed PLN 112,000 for joint returns. Importantly, the relief is not universally available. It cannot be applied by individuals taxed with 19% flat rate on income from business activity or special branches of agricultural production, applying the lump-sum income tax (on recorded revenue) or subject to fixed amount tax.
