| |
Poland's Taxes
As a rule expatriates and natives pay
the same taxes in Poland. Of course, there are
exceptions and they benefit the former.
Value added
tax (VAT)
is included in the price of
almost every product and service you purchase.
Foreigners can reclaim VAT levied on goods they
had bought in Poland and took abroad (in fact, out of the European
Union). And the tax
is naught in case of all exports to countries beyond the EU. It is also nil
as regards some international transportation
services, financial and insurance products,
cultural services, books, agriculture machinery, etc. As regards real estate the Value Added Tax for
of newly built residential property is 7 percent. Otherwise VAT amounts to 3% for unprocessed food,
to 7% for most foodstuffs, tourist services (e.g.
your hotel and restaurant bills), transportation
services (e.g. bus tickets), children-care goods,
newspaper and magazines, health-care goods,
construction and renovation, communal services (e.g.
water distribution) and fertilizers, and to 22%
for everything else.
Excise
duty (Polish 'akcyza')
is a ‘sin tax’ of sorts,
included alongside VAT in the price of such
products (both domestic and imported) as tobacco, alcohol, motor fuels,
playing cards, firearms, cars, yachts and boats.
Personal
income tax (PIT)
is paid both by
Poland’s citizens and by permanent residents.
Having lived in the country for 184 days or more
over a calendar year the latter have taxed their
overall income unless they represent foreign
company in Poland or work for a corporation
established with foreign capital. Otherwise only
the Polish earnings are taxable. The personal income tax is
paid on a monthly basis and the deadline for yearly tax
returns is April 30.
In
2008 the top personal
income-tax rate is levied on earnings above 85,528 Polish zlotys
(roughly 24,500 euro) per year and it
amounts to 40%. The first 3,090 zlotys earned in the year are
free of tax, while income exceeding this figure but lower than
44,490 zlotys is taxed at 19%. Yearly earnings in the bracket
from 44,490 zlotys to 85,528 zlotys incur 30-percent tax.
Separately
taxed are one-off earnings. For instance receipts from interest and
intellectual property are subject to a flat tax
of 20%. Also, dividends are taxed at 15 percent,
while profits from stock sales incur 19% tax. Receipts from real estate sales
are taxed at 10% for properties acquired in the years 2001 to
2006, whereas sellers of estates purchased in 2007 or later pay
the 19-percent tax on the profits less costs such as fees of the
notary public.
Please
note that Poland has tax treaties with 60-plus
nations, including the USA, the UK and
Germany alongside the rest of developed
countries, which ensure no income is
taxed twice.
Corporate
income tax (CIT)
applies to firms.
Companies incorporated or headquartered in Poland
are subject to CIT on their overall income, the
rest only on the chunk earned on the Polish soil.
Net proceeds, less depreciation of fixed assets
and intangibles, are liable to 15% tax. Loss incurred one year
can be offset against income over five subsequent
years. And, sure thing, there are various
allowances and exemptions.
Local
taxes
i.e.
real estate tax,
transportation tax imposed on trucks and buses,
inheritance and donations tax, agricultural tax,
forestry tax, dogs tax – cannot exceed limits
set by general law.
Note:
inheritance, donations, and loans from the immediate family –
i.e. parents, stepparents, grandparents, children,
stepchildren, grandchildren, spouses, and siblings – are
free of tax when gained after January 1, 2007.
Stamp
duties
apply to such legal acts as
applications to authorities, certain documents,
official certificates, permits, etc.
Also
commercial
deeds –
such as sale and exchange contracts, loan
agreements, articles of association, etc. –
are subject to a stamp duty of sorts called 'podatek od
czynnosci cywilnoprawnych'. It applies to transactions dealing with goods
situated in Poland or property rights exercised
in Poland, and also whenever the purchaser has
its registered office or residence in Poland and
the acquisition takes place in Poland. For
instance, one pays 2% of the market value of real
estate or other goods being sold or swapped, between 0,1% and 2% of the authorized
capital under articles of association, and 2% of
the sum a company borrows.
|
Duty-free
goods
Tax-free
Shopping in Krakow
Business in Krakow
Tips
for the Business Visitor Coming to Krakow
Foreign
Direct Investment in Krakow
Investing
in Krakow
Krakow
Technology Park
Krakow's
Real Estate
New
Town in the Center of Krakow
Krakow's
Biggest Industrial Corporations
Krakow
Economy
Shopping
in Krakow
|
