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Over
100,000 private businesses and nearly 2,000 public firms carry
on in Krakow with aggregate revenue to the tune of about 14.6
billion euro. Usually the city's big
companies with hundreds and thousands on the payroll come
under the spotlight yet they are hardly representative of Krakow
economy. The self-employed and small enterprises employing
less than ten workers account for over ninety percent of
business entities incorporated in the city. Foreigners
own at least partly more than 1,900 of Krakow's
companies.
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Visitors from
member-states of the European Union and NATO do not need
visas to enter Poland. Otherwise, when a country wants
Polish citizens to acquire a visa the general rule is that
Poland requires citizens of that country to secure one for
admission to Poland as well. Yet all aliens save those
from other EU countries need a visa to
stay in Poland beyond 90 days. [See also tips on employment, transport, communication, currency,
paying, weights & measures, business hours, holidays,
dates and numbers, and local customs].
More
tips for business visitors
As a rule expatriates and natives pay
the same taxes in Poland. Of course, there are
exceptions and they benefit the former. E.g. the country has tax treaties with 60-plus
nations, including the USA, which ensure no income is
taxed twice and lower taxes apply. Value added
tax (VAT) is included in the price of
almost every product and service you purchase. Excise
duty is a ‘sin tax’ of sorts,
included alongside VAT in the price of such
products as
cigarettes, liquors, motor fuels, etc.
Companies incorporated or headquartered in Poland
are subject to corporate
income tax. Personal
income tax is paid both by
Poland’s citizens and by permanent residents.
More
on taxes in Poland
In Poland
foreigners can freely buy apartments or plots up to 0.4
hectare (i.e. about an acre) in urban areas. They may also
inherit any estate. Otherwise acquisitions of
urban property by aliens other than EU citizens require authorization from the Ministry of
Internal Affairs, easily obtainable in most
cases. It applies to individuals as well as
companies whenever foreigners hold the
controlling interest.
More
on Krakow's real estates
On the strength of their 2005 sales, nineteen of Krakow's companies
rank
among Poland’s 500 biggest business organizations. Owing to its annual turnover
of roughly euro 1.6 billion BP Polska, Poland's affiliate of
Britain's oil multinational, headquartered in Krakow, makes the
17th largest Polish corporation in 2005.
More
on Krakow corporations
Over
five million visitors show up in Krakow
every year, though only a third or so stay
overnight in the city. Many arrive and/or leave
by air, but most take advantage of the fact that
Krakow lies at a major European road and rail
junction.
More
on travel to Krakow
See
the list
of Krakow's lawyers and law firms. Sooner
or later everybody will need one of
them.
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Poland’s labor costs stay at a third of Germany’s, and the country boasts a
sizeable and fast-expanding internal market, enjoys a healthy GDP growth, and
remains a model of political and economic stability in the region. And now it's
European Union. No wonder
foreign investors flock: from multinationals to fairly small enterprises. If you
want to jump the bandwagon, Krakow appears a particularly good place with some
8.5 million people living within a radius of 100 km. And the city is situated at
Europe’s crucial crossroads between Germany and Ukraine and between
Scandinavia and the south of the continent.
More
on FDI in Krakow
All companies incorporated in Poland are equal before the law of the
country. And Polish corporations can be owned altogether and run
by foreign shareholders, while full repatriation of capital as well as after-tax
profits and dividend earnings is guaranteed. At the same time Poland's competition law, the
protection of intellectual property, bankruptcy
law, etc. are nowadays up to the Western
standards.
More
on investing in Krakow
So-called New Town (‘Nowe Miasto’), a
250,000-sq-m office-shopping-and-entertainment complex on the 70,000-sq-m site
in downtown Krakow next to the Old Town historic district, is the city’s
biggest development project under construction. Local government earmarked the
strategic area adjoining Krakow’s communication hub with main railroad and bus
stations for its brand-new commercial center.
More
on New Town project
From designer garb to
jewelry, and from antiques to books and CDs–Krakow’s central
Old Town historic district,
turned into a pedestrian precinct, teems with stores
of all sorts, crammed into every available space.
More
on shopping in Krakow
Krakow has always been Poland’s gourmet Mecca. And
the recent decade brought about a genuine restaurant
explosion all over the city owing to the hectic
efforts of aspiring restaurateurs–native ones as
well as immigrants. The Old Town historic district
seems virtually stuffed with establishments catering
to all kinds of diners.
Krakow’s
restaurants, a dining guide
There is no subway in Krakow, nonetheless that
nearly million city has a fairly dense public transport system which consists of
streetcars and buses a municipal company operates and a number of private-owned
minibus fleets. Taxicabs are plentiful and
relatively cheap in Krakow–within the city boundaries the fare should not
exceed 20 euro. And you can dial roughly twenty different taxi telephone centers,
each with its own fleet.
More
on Krakow transport
There
are 25,000-plus beds to choose from in Krakow.
Lodging
guide to Krakow hotels
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Selected
business facilitators in Krakow
Any
following information has been provided by respective
establishments on their sole responsibility.
Eurolink
Translation & Interpreting Services
Address: ul. Kielecka 5/5a. Phone: (+48) 124172013, Info:
(+48) 801003155, mobile: (+48) 501 717903. Web site: www.eurolink.pl
Email krakow@eurolink.pl We provide reliable, fast and
economic translation and interpreting services both to
companies and individuals. We specialize in translations from
English into Polish and from Polish into English of:
* Polish legal acts
* European Union legal acts
* Tenders and contracts
* Official documents, including: judgments of courts of law,
decisions of administrative organs, notarial deeds, school
diplomas and certificates
* Private documents, including: powers of attorney,
testaments, petitions, claims...
* Business documents, including: presentations, commercials,
agreements, etc.
If you are a businessman looking for a well-written website, a
job applicant trying to increase your chances of getting an
interview, or a foreign student looking for higher grades,
this service is what you need. Your written work will
significantly benefit from improvements we can make to it thus
increasing your chances of success.
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Krakow
General Data:
Geography,
Weather,
Local
Government, History,
Culture,
Environment,
Wildlife,
Province,
Basic Krakow info for
visitors
Poland
nation, geography, climate, wildlife, visitors,
currency.
Malopolska
Province
Krakow's
Transport
How to move about the city.
Travel
to Krakow
In
the proximity of Krakow
Krakow is Poland's tourist mecca, and also a gateway to
many other must-see sites in the region.
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