Publications

As of 1 January 2017, in connection with the amendment of the Act on Freedom of Business Activity, entrepreneurs are required to make payments to other entrepreneurs via a bank account if the transaction value on a single basis, regardless of the number of payments it involves, is in excess of the equivalent of PLN 15,000. This amendment has also influence on the principles for determining tax deductible costs in connection with incurring expenses for which payment is made in cash.

On the website of the Government Legislation Centre a long awaited proposal of the Act amending the VAT Act has been published. As may be concluded from the rationale for the Act, the legislator’s intention is first of all further sealing of the tax system. Below we present a short summary of the most important – in our subjective assessment – changes which are to be effective already as of 1 January 2017.

Interpretation of the Personal Income Tax Act provisions, favourable for taxpayers, that financial equivalents for private equipment used by the employee for performing work are exempt from personal income tax, has been recently confirmed.

As of 1 January 2017 we will see a change in the principles for determination of income from taking up shares in capital companies and a limited joint-stock partnership in exchange for an in-kind contribution.

Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) in the judgement of 05 July confirmed what is to be understood under the term of services of a similar (to advisory, accounting services, etc.) nature for the purpose of determining the obligation of deducting a withholding tax from payments made to non-residents on this account.

Legislative works are underway on the governmental proposal of the Act amending the Corporate Income Tax Act and the Personal Income Tax Act. Among other things, the amendment is to lower the CIT rate for certain taxpayers from 19% to 15%.

In a judgment of 7 July 2016 (case ref. no. II FSK 993/16), the Supreme Administrative Court confirmed its position presented before that a cash-pooling agreement and the relations between its participants are covered by the provisions of Article 9a.1 of the CIT Act, imposing on entities an obligation to prepare transfer pricing documentation.

In April we informed about the obligation to send uniform control files (UCF) starting as of 1 July 2016. In the answers to frequently asked questions regarding the structure of UCF available on the website of the Ministry of Finance as well as in a letter of 20 June 2016 (ref. no. PK4.8012.55.2016), the Minister of Finance clarified how the new regulations should be interpreted, also as regards the catalogue of entities subject to the new obligation.

It should be now easier for taxpayers to determine properly when VAT becomes chargeable for provided construction services and construction and assembly services. Doubts in this regard have been cleared by the Minister of Finance in his general binding ruling issued on 1 April 2016 (ref. no. PT3.8101.41.2015.AEW.2016.AMT.141).

The Act of 13 May 2016 amending the Tax Regulations and certain other laws, of which we already wrote in our March Newsletter, was published in the Journal of Laws of 14 June 2016, item 846. The tax law circumvention rule will be an important tool for tax authorities in the fight against financial abuse and aggressive tax optimisation.