Poland's Law and Justice to tax supermarket giants in 2016

The proposed legislation, which is to cover supermarkets that have a sales area greater than 250 square meters, is expected to yield some PLN 3.5 billion (EUR 0.8 billion) for the state budget annually.

As the party indicates, back in 2013 some 175 retail chains paid up some PLN 440 million (over EUR 100 million) in income taxes in total – a figure accounting for some 0.47 percent of their yearly revenue.

The move is meant to curb the transfer of profits abroad, limit the expansion of foreign-owned retail networks and level the playing field for smaller enterprises, the party believes.

“We would like to see the new law come into force as soon as possible,” says MP Henryk Kowalczyk. “We are not sure whether this will take place as of 1 January 2016 but the regulations should be made effective in the first quarter of next year.”

A first for Poland, the proposal to levy taxes on supermarket giants follows the example of Hungary which introduced a special tax rate of 0.1 to 2.5 percent for the biggest retailers.

Meanwhile, Ryszard Petru, head of the Nowoczesna (Modern) party, argues the new tax would predominantly hit consumers, as the tax hike will translate to higher prices of goods. (aba/rk)

Source: IAR, PAP