KPMG Weekly Tax Review. Changes to competence of tax offices

On 21 August 2025, the preliminary remarks to the following bills were added to the list of legislative work and policies of the Council of Ministers:

1. a bill amending the Public Health Act and certain other acts, which provides, among other things, for: transferring the obligation to pay the levy on foodstuffs from sellers to producers, importers and entities purchasing beverages within the EU, updating the fixed and variable fee for the sugar or sweetener content of beverages, a fixed fee for the caffeine or taurine content found, among others, in energy drinks as well as the maximum fee applicable, and clarification of the provisions by clearly indicating that the foodstuffs fee is calculated on the basis of the total amount of sugars contained in a beverage. The bill is expected to be passed by the Council of Ministers in Q3/Q4 2025.
2. a bill amending the Act on Excise Duty and the Personal Income Tax Act, which, among other provisions, introduces increases in excise duty rates on alcoholic beverages for 2026 and 2027 (by 15% in 2026 compared to 2025 rates, and by a further 10% in 2027 compared to 2026 rates). The bill also raises the lump-sum income tax rate on prizes from competitions, games, mutual betting, and promotional sales offers (from 10% to 15% of the prize or winnings). The bill is expected to be passed by the Council of Ministers in Q4 2025.

Projekt ustawy o zmianie ustawy o zdrowiu publicznym oraz niektórych innych ustaw

Projekt ustawy o zmianie ustawy o podatku akcyzowym oraz ustawy o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych

On 21 August 2025, preliminary remarks to the bill amending the Corporate Income Tax Act and the Act on the Tax on Certain Financial Institutions were added to the list of legislative work and policies of the Council of Ministers. According to the bill, starting from 2028 the target CIT rate for banks is to be set at 23% (instead of the current 19%). In turn, in 2026-2027, the CIT rate for banks would amount to 30% and 26 %, respectively. A reduction in the tax on certain financial institutions (commonly referred to as the bank tax) was also proposed. The tax would be decreased by 10% in 2027 and by 20% (compared to 2025) starting from 2028, to stimulate lending. The bill is expected to be passed by the Council of Ministers in Q3/Q4 2025.

Projekt ustawy o zmianie ustawy o podatku dochodowym od osób prawnych oraz ustawy o podatku od niektórych instytucji finansowych

On 21 August 2025, the President signed 21 new acts into law, including the Act of 25 July 2025 amending certain acts to simplify administration procedures and promote entrepreneurship, which introduces, among other things, the concept of tacit consent in certain administrative matters, and the Act of 25 July 2025 amending the Act on computerization of the activities of entities performing public tasks, providing for, inter alia, increasing the scale of online applications in the public sphere, economy and society. At the same time, the President vetoed the Act of 5 August 2025 amending the Act on investments in wind farms and certain other acts, which provides for reducing the minimum distance between wind farms and residential buildings from 700 to 500 meters and introducing measures to facilitate the modernization of existing wind farms (known as repowering). The act is now to be re-submitted before the Sejm.

Ustawy podpisane w sierpniu 2025 r.

On 20 August 2025, the regulation of the Minister of Finance and Economy of 10 August 2025 amending the regulation concerning certain taxpayers and remitters for whom the responsibilities of a tax office are carried out by a head of office other than the one with local jurisdiction, was promulgated in the Polish Journal of Laws. The aim of this regulation is, among other objectives, to ensure that all entities which have entered into a cooperation compliance agreement fall under the jurisdiction of a single tax office, specifically the Head of the First Mazovian Tax Office in Warsaw. The new regulations provide, among other measures, for the extension of the list of entities classified as taxpayers and remitters of significant economic or social importance, whose matters are handled by heads of tax offices other than those with local jurisdiction, to include taxpayers who are parties to a cooperation compliance agreement. Most new provisions (with some exceptions) are to enter into force on 1 January 2026.

Rozporządzenie Ministra Finansów i Gospodarki z dnia 10 sierpnia 2025 r. zmieniające rozporządzenie w sprawie niektórych podatników i płatników, w odniesieniu do których zadania są wykonywane przez naczelnika urzędu skarbowego innego niż właściwy miejscowo

A Polish-language version of the latest (fourth) revision of the FAQ (frequently asked questions with answers) relating to the Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation (EUDR) is now available. In particular, doubts relating to deadlines (section 8 of the document) and the transitional period (section 9 thereof) were dispelled. The answers indicate, among other things, that the substantive provisions of the EUDR will apply to medium-sized and large enterprises from 30 December 2025, and to micro and small enterprises from 30 June 2026. At the same time, the aforementioned entities are not required to comply with the EUDR in respect of products placed on the EU market prior to these respective dates.

Polska wersja dokumentu FAQ do Rozporządzenia EUDR

On 20 August 2025, a bill amending the Act on Personal Income Tax was published on the Government Legislation Centre’s website and is currently being assessed. The bill provides for increasing from PLN 1 million to PLN 2 million the revenue threshold allowing for the use of the cash method in accounting for costs and revenues (the cash PIT scheme), referred to in Article 14c(1)(1) of the PIT Act.

Projekt ustawy o zmianie ustawy o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych

According to the information published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on 18 August 2025, the Polish Act of 6 November 2024 on top-up taxation of members of multinational and domestic enterprise groups (the GloBE Act) was introduced to the register of countries that meet temporary criteria for their IIR (Income Inclusion Rule) and QDMTT (Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax) regulations to be recognized as qualified (transitional qualified status), as well as a register of jurisdictions that qualify for the QDMTT Safe Harbour, for the taxable year 2024. The OECD register lists countries whose GloBE rules have been reviewed and granted ‘qualified’ status by the OECD. Based on the information in the register of national legislation with qualified status, the constituent entities of a group can determine which GloBE rules should be applied to the entities within the group.

Central Record of Legislation with Transitional Qualified Status

On 13 August 2025, the first meeting of the Team against Aggressive Tax Planning was held at the Ministry of Finance, while on 14 August 2025, the activity of the National Revenue Administration’s Competence Centre against Aggressive Tax Planning in CIT formally began in Krakow. The task of the Team against Aggressive Tax Planning is to prepare a report containing proposals for measures to combat aggressive tax planning in corporate income tax, while the task of the National Revenue Administration’s Competence Centre is to detect and neutralize aggressive tax optimization schemes (including, among other activities, through analysing information on such schemes, collecting and processing data from the JPK-CIT and KSeF systems, and preparing proposals for legislative changes to restrict the use of aggressive tax strategies).

According to the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court dated 20 August 2025 (case file II FSK 1535/22), when an employee carries out work related to R&D activities, all revenue received by the taxpayer in connection with this work and financed by the employer under the employment contract (including holiday or sick pay) constitutes an eligible cost under Article 18d(2)(1) of the CIT Act. This is because, according to the Court, there are no grounds for excluding from such costs the remuneration received by a R&D employee when they do not perform work because of the annual leave, sick leave or any other type of absence.

According to the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court dated 20 August 2025 (case file III FSK 3/22), Article 7(1)(1)(a) of the Act on Local Taxes and Fees, providing for exemption from the real estate tax of land, buildings, and structures forming part of railway infrastructure made available to railway carriers, shall not be regarded as State aid. In fact, the above exemption does not constitute a selective advantage and is available to any taxpayer. According to the Supreme Administrative Court, these principles are universal in nature and similar cases will be decided in the same way in the near future. Furthermore, although property tax is not harmonized, this does not entirely preclude EU authorities from overseeing the granting of State aid. However, Member States retain the right to introduce exemptions within the scope of their tax autonomy.