WARSAW: A new progressive retail tax came into force in Poland on Thursday, with the government expecting it to boost state coffers by PLN 1.6 billion next year. A bill signed into law at the end of July by President Andrzej Duda brings in two retail tax rates: 0.8 percent on revenue between PLN 17 million (EUR 3.9m, USD 4.3m) and PLN 170 million a month; and 1.4 percent on revenue of over PLN 170 million a month.
The tax, which was proposed as part of the Law and Justice (PiS) party’s election campaign last year, was originally meant to apply to supermarkets with a retail area of over 250 square meters before being amended. PiS argued that new rules were needed to even out the chances of small businesses competing with large retail chains. Revenue from the tax is expected to help fund several of PiS’s electoral pledges, including its flagship “500+” child benefits programme.
