taxes

The assessment of income taxes is mixed. On the one hand, Poland\'s top marginal tax rates are in many situations lower than, or close to the OECD average. On the other hand, the Tax Foundation points to many elements that fall short of the postulates of simplicity and neutrality of the tax system. 

I recently attended a discussion on Europe’s competitiveness. There was unanimous agreement that we are lagging behind in all applied technologies—perhaps with the sole exception of the pharmaceutical industry. The reflexive response from the participants was: “We’ve created a fund for that.” Too few startups? Create a startup fund.Weak AI performance? An AI innovation fund!

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.

Donald Trump\'s trade policies are not just bad economics—they are an attack on individual freedom, global cooperation, and the principles that made America strong. Classical liberalism values free markets, open societies, and limited government interference in voluntary exchange. Trade is a cornerstone of this worldview. When two people—or two nations—exchange goods freely, both benefit. It is the essence of mutual gain.

The new coalition in Lithuania has made it clear that the aim is to ensure adequate funding for defense and national security. It has promised to reform the second pillar of pension funds as a priority. In addition, it has proposed a tax reform, with a specific component: progressive taxation for higher earners, irrespective of their income.

In the Czech Republic, there has been a long-standing discussion about the possibility of taxing still wine. This issue is particularly relevant during times of economic crisis when the state is looking for ways to increase tax revenues. However, the introduction of new taxes should be based on a thorough analysis of impacts and should consider the insights and interests of all stakeholders involved to ensure that the tax is neither unnecessarily costly nor ineffective.

The number thirteen is commonly recognized as an unlucky number. But for Hungarian businesspeople, the preceding number is worse, as the 12th is the deadline for paying taxes.

Donald Tusk outlined priorities for the Polish government for the next months. In his expose, he paid a lot of attention to entrepreneurs, promising to limit inspections of micro-entrepreneurs, introduce a cash-based personal income tax for entrepreneurs settling this tax with the tax authorities, and a vacation for entrepreneurs, i.e. one month a year free of social security contributions and a benefit of half the minimum wage.

Bulgaria’s Мinistry of Finance recently published the \'tax package\' for 2024, including proposed changes to all tax laws. Alongside widely discussed cases such as the return of the standard VAT rate for restaurants and bread and non-payment of bills in case of an undeclared cash receipt, the package also includes perhaps the deepest change in business taxation in our country in over 15 years.

The complexity of the advance payment of corporate income tax (CIT) creates administrative burdens for businesses and hinders the path to greater competitiveness. To ensure the stability of the state budget and higher tax revenue collection, the CIT regime was complemented by an advance CIT in the early years of the restoration of Lithuania\'s independence. Companies pay it before profits are earned, thus crediting the State.