Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski recently announced plans to introduce a digital tax in Poland on the revenues or profits of big tech corporations operating in the country.¹ The funds raised would be used to subsidize the development of Polish companies and start-ups in the digital technology sector and media.
This would constitute yet another sector-specific tax. Such a levy would further complicate the tax system, contrary to recommendations to make it more transparent. It would also breach the principle of taxing firms under equal rules.
Its introduction would increase state revenues, but the growth would be relatively modest. The cost of the tax would ultimately be borne by Polish consumers of technological services, as prices are likely to rise. So far, there is no consensus within the government on the digital tax – the Ministry of Finance insists it is not working on such a measure.²
We do not yet know the details of the proposal: the method of calculating the tax, its rate, or projected budgetary revenues. In 2020, the Instrat Foundation estimated that with a 7% tax on revenues, annual budget revenues could reach PLN 2 billion over five years.³ However, such a rate would be relatively high compared to those in other countries that have introduced a digital tax – in most (e.g., France, the UK, Italy) the rate is around 2–3%, with only Turkey imposing more (7.5%).⁴ It is therefore reasonable to assume that the rate in Poland would be lower than 7%, and thus budgetary revenues would also be lower than Instrat’s PLN 2 billion projection.
Based on revenue sizes in several large Western economies, we estimate that in Poland, a 3% tax would bring in PLN 0.6–0.9 billion (assuming revenues scale proportionally to GDP) or PLN 0.9–2 billion (assuming proportionality to population).
Table 1. Comparison of digital tax revenues in 2023 and estimates for Poland
| Country | Budget revenues | Rate | Revenues in Poland at 3% rate proportional to GDP | Revenues in Poland at 3% rate proportional to population |
| France | €680m | 3% | €187m | €365m |
| Italy | €390m | 3% | €142m | €243m |
| United Kingdom | £567m | 2% | €211m | £457m |
| Spain* | €278m | 3% | €161m | €214m |
* for Spain: 2022 figures.
Calculations based on GDP and population of countries in 2023 (Spain – 2022; Poland’s GDP – 2024).
Source: FOR’s own calculations based on World Bank data, government reports, and press information.
It should also be noted that Poland already has a form of digital tax in place since 2020 – currently it applies only to streaming VOD services, set at 1.5% of revenues from user fees or advertising. Proceeds go to the Polish Film Institute and amounted to PLN 49 million in 2024.⁵ The current proposal is thus an extension of the concept to other digital services.
Targeting Specific Companies
The digital tax would be another sector-specific levy, similar to PiS’s earlier bank tax⁶ or retail tax.⁷ The bank tax in Poland resulted, among other things, in very low deposit interest rates, harming Polish savers and increasing borrowing costs.⁸ ⁹
Sectoral taxes, often targeted at specific companies, distort competition by favoring certain activities over others. They are not neutral, lead to higher service prices, and distort market allocation of resources. They typically target “unpopular” groups, helping politicians build political capital.
A coherent and transparent tax system should subject everyone to the same rules.¹⁰ Choosing specific groups to hit with special taxes is dangerous and increases investment risk. Investors may avoid developing industries that could be singled out for new levies.
Sector-targeted taxes also carry a greater risk of legislation being tailored to particular companies. A firm might lobby for favorable provisions exempting it from the tax or reducing its burden.
A Tax That Could Raise Prices
Experience from countries that have introduced similar taxes suggests that a digital tax could raise service prices – both directly for consumers and for businesses. For instance, Netflix in Australia raised prices by over 10% after a 10% tax was introduced.¹¹ Google introduced an additional ad fee in countries with digital taxes (Austria, Canada, Spain, France, UK, Italy, Turkey), ranging from 2% to 7% of service value.¹²
Deloitte estimated that in France, a 3% digital tax on revenues would be borne 55% by consumers, 40% by businesses, and only 5% by the corporations subject to it.¹³ Thus, consumers would feel the largest impact.
What Taxes Do Digital Companies Pay in Poland and Worldwide?
Global digital corporations pay taxes in various countries to varying degrees. For example, Meta in 2023 generated 39% of revenues (nearly $135bn) in the US and Canada, 23% in Europe, and 10% in China. Globally, Meta earned a net income of $39bn, with a profit margin of 29%, and taxes equal to 6.2% of revenues.
Facebook Poland in 2023 reported revenues of over PLN 155m and profit of over PLN 34m, paying nearly PLN 9m in corporate income tax. Its profit margin was almost 22%, with tax amounting to 5.7% of revenues – not far off the global ratio.
Considering Poland’s restrictive transfer pricing regulations¹⁴ and OECD guidelines,¹⁵ the tax issue for global tech companies lies more in non-reporting of revenues in a given country than in “inflating costs.” The digital tax is intended to offset this.
However, Facebook Poland’s revenues accounted for only 0.03% of Meta’s global revenues, while Polish Facebook users constitute 0.8% of global users.¹⁶ Poland represents 0.76% of world GDP and 0.46% of the world’s population.
Table 2. Comparison of revenues and profitability of global digital giants and their Polish subsidiaries in 2023
| Company | Globally | Rentability of sales | Tax as % of revenue | Poland | Rentability of sales | Tax as % of revenue | % of revenues earned in Poland |
| Meta (Facebook) | 29.00% | 6.20% | 21.93% | 5.70% | 0.03% | ||
| Alphabet (Google) | 24.00% | 3.90% | 7.59% | 2.20% | 0.11% | ||
| Amazon | 5.30% | 1.20% | 4.10% | 1.40% | 0.26% | ||
| Microsoft | 36.30% | 8.20% | 15.25% | 3.90% | 0.13% | ||
| Apple | 26.20% | 4.50% | 78.14% | 16.90% | 0.02% |
Source: FOR’s own calculations based on financial reports and macrotrends.net. For the share of global revenues, the average annual USD/PLN exchange rate in 2023 (4.20 PLN) was used.
Combined, these five companies declared PLN 9.5bn revenue in Poland (approx. $2.25bn) and paid over PLN 220m in corporate tax.
Notably, companies have very different profit margins. A tax on revenues would disproportionately hit lower-margin firms, potentially raising service prices further. For Amazon, for example, nearly half of its activity is product sales (not likely subject to the digital tax), while the rest (services) likely would.¹⁷
Conclusion
It is unclear what form the Polish digital tax would take or what rate it would have. Its purpose would be to force tech giants to pay taxes on revenues generated in Poland. However, it would not be tax-neutral and would likely increase digital service prices, affecting both businesses and consumers.
Doubts also surround Minister Gawkowski’s promise that tax revenues will support Poland’s tech sector. The state is unlikely to effectively stimulate digital sector growth through subsidies or market interventions. This vision resembles a form of central planning.
Although with a high public finance deficit the temptation to seek extra revenues is understandable, assurances that funds will be directed to technology development suggest spending will rise in step with revenues. The net effect, however, will most likely be negative for consumers.
The tax could also strain international relations – the proposal has already met skepticism from the incoming US ambassador. Nevertheless, Minister Gawkowski has announced that a draft law will be presented by the end of the year.¹⁸
References
1 K. Kalus, Giganci zapłacą podatek. „Musimy szukać dodatkowych źródeł pieniędzy”, Money.pl, 10 marca 2025, https://www.money.pl/podatki/podatek-od-big-techow-minister-cyfryzacji-podal-szczegoly7133563396430336a.html.
2 A. Mandel, Ministerstwo Finansów: nie pracujemy nad podatkiem cyfrowym, Polskie Radio 24, 11 marca 2025, https://polskieradio24.pl/artykul/3495138,Ministerstwo-Finans%C3%B3w-Nie-pracujemy-nad-podatkiem-cyfrowym.
3 J. Zygmuntowski, K. Chojecka, S. Roy, Podatek cyfrowy od gigantów. Ekspertyza w zakresie wprowadzenia w Polsce podatku cyfrowego (DST), Instrat Policy Paper 02/2020, Warszawa, marzec 2020, s. 4, https://instrat.pl/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Podatek-cyfrowy-od-gigantow-Instrat-Policy-Paper-02_2020-1.pdf.
4 Tamże, s. 21–22; Podatek cyfrowy daje wielkie zyski. Te kraje mają dodatkowe miliony euro do swoich budżetów, Bankier.pl, 13 marca 2025, https://www.bankier.pl/wiadomosc/Podatek-cyfrowy-daje-wielkie-zyski-Tekraje-maja-dodatkowe-miliony-euro-do-swoich-budzetow-8906791.html.
5 J. Dąbrowska-Cydzik, Prawie 50 mln złotych z „podatku od VOD” w 2024 roku¸ Wirtualne Media, 17 lutego 2025, https://www.wirtualnemedia.pl/artykul/podatek-od-vod-skladla-audiowizualna-wplywy-w-2024-r.
6 A. Łaszek, R. Trzeciakowski, Podatek bankowy – rząd szuka finansowania obietnic wyborczych, Analiza 3/2016, Forum Obywatelskiego Rozwoju, 9 lutego 2016, https://for.org.pl/2016/02/09/analiza-32016-podatek-bankowyrzad-szuka-finansowania-obietnic-wyborczych/.
7 M. Zieliński, A. Łaszek, Dodatkowy podatek od handlu – szkodliwy i nieuzasadniony, Analiza 1/2016, Forum Obywatelskiego Rozwoju, 28 stycznia 2016, https://for.org.pl/2016/01/28/analiza-12016-podatek-od-sprzedazy-detalicznej-szkodliwy-i-nieuzasadniony/.
8 M. Rudke, Trzy lata podatku bankowego, Parkiet.com, 16 lutego 2019, https://www.parkiet.com/parkietplus/art20252671-trzy-lata-podatku-bankowego.
9 T. Pawlonka, Podatek bankowy a marże kredytowe, Bank.pl, 10 marca 2025, https://bank.pl/podatek-bankowya-marze-kredytowe/.
10 Zob. H. Wejman, M. Zieliński, System podatkowy, w: Forum Obywatelskiego Rozwoju, Polityka publiczna oparta na dowodach. Ocena Polski, Warszawa, styczeń 2024, s. 17-28, https://for.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/8279_ebpmfinalplv2.pdf.
11 E. Asen, D. Bunn, Amazon Passes France’s Digital Services Tax on to Vendors, Tax Foundation, 6 sierpnia 2019, https://taxfoundation.org/blog/amazon-france-digital-tax/.
12 https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9750227?hl=en.
13 J. Pellefigue, The French Digital Service Tax. An economic impact assessment, Deloitte, 22 marca 2019, https://blog.avocats.deloitte.fr/content/uploads/2020/03/dst-impact-assessment-march-2019.pdf.
14 A. Poniatowska, Sankcje w cenach transferowych w 2024 r., PKF Polska, 24 września 2024, https://www.pkfpolska.pl/sankcje-w-cenach-transferowych-w-2024-r-5912.
15 Wytyczne OCED w sprawie cen transferowych dla przedsiębiorstw wielonarodowych oraz administracji podatkowych, podatki.gov.pl, 18 listopada 2023, https://www.podatki.gov.pl/ceny-transferowe/ceny-transferowe-wgoecd-i-ue/prace-i-publikacje-oecd/.
16 T. Wojtas, Facebook w Polsce 10 mln użytkowników przed Instagramem. Na dłużej przyciąga TikTok¸ Wirtualne Media, 16 sierpnia 2024, https://www.wirtualnemedia.pl/artykul/facebook-tiktok-w-polsce-ilu-ma-uzytkowikoww-lipcu-2024-roku; Ilu ludzi na świecie korzysta z Facebooka? Meta ujawniła dane, Business Insider, 27 lipca 2023, https://businessinsider.com.pl/wiadomosci/ilu-ludzi-na-swiecie-korzysta-z-facebooka-w-europie-2-mlnmniej/6y4dbyk.
17 Amazon.com, Inc., Form 10-K, s. 38, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000101872424000008/amzn-20231231.htm#i9b49001f922340eeba23291553f14c70_106.
18 Gawkowski chce „iść na twardo” w sprawie podatku cyfrowego, Business Insider, 24 marca 2025, https://businessinsider.com.pl/prawo/podatki/gawkowski-chce-isc-na-twardo-w-sprawie-podatku-cyfrowego/6wvpnsn.
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