The text proposed by the Minister of Finance on the retail tax bill was sent back from the Chancellery of the Prime Minister to the Ministry of Finance. The representatives of the Ministry of Finance are very general in this regard. Unofficial information that appears shows that the bill is to be subject to interministerial consultations. A recommendation has probably also been made to increase the amount to be exempted from tax (in the original draft it is 1,500,000 PLN monthly).
Minister Paweł Szalamacha in an interview provides that the possible date of entry into force of the new tax is second Half of March of this year, however, does not seem realistic.
From the perspective of tax law experts, it should be concluded that the project initially submitted was largely underdeveloped, its entry into force would create significant interpretation difficulties, including a contradiction with many normative acts, including the provisions of the VAT Directive Directive 2006/112, since the proposal for a new tax should be considered a kind of tax.
At present, there is a lack of information about possible recommendations on determining the party to the tax (restricted group of taxpayers) which seems to be a key issue of this tax.
According to earlier assumptions, the new tax was intended to limit the dominant position of foreign commercial networks, while the proposed project would almost equally burden Polish large retailers.
We also do not know whether the NPRM has pointed out the need to clarify the side of the tax, including the rules on charging and collecting taxes for goods sent through carriers. It is also highly doubtful to include a higher rate of turnover on Saturday sales.
This demonstrates the prevailing fiscal function of the tax rather than the function of supporting small Polish trade, which was originally intended to introduce this tax.
Interministerial consultations alone only mean that the project will be sent to all ministries and this does not mean that the project's shortcomings will be eliminated.
Minister Paweł Szalamacha in an interview provides that the possible date of entry into force of the new tax is second Half of March of this year, however, does not seem realistic. The MF representatives also did not explain the reasons for the lack of official publication of the project.