A dramatic rise in the price for "complicated" tax interpretations – such a solution can soon become a reality. At present, the fee is the sum of 40 PLN. The government's plan is to leave this rate, with the exception of ‘particularly complicated’ cases.
The point is that in principle any request for interpretation can be considered a particularly complicated case. This in turn will increase the fee from 40 PLN up to 2,000 PLN. It should be noted that the draft amendment does not provide for any indirect option. The subjective opinion of the tax authority will decide which of the two rates (40 PLN or 2,000 PLN) will be used.
Tax law is very specific in relation to other branches of law, primarily because changes occur here constantly, and certainly much more often than in company law. Moreover, tax law is uncodified, i.e. there is no ‘tax code’. The key tax rules are ‘thrown’ in various laws.
Individual interpretation is specific to tax law. It provides a guarantee of tax consequences in a particular case. If the tax authority considers in its interpretation that a person, for example, does not have to pay the tax in a given factual state, there is no later possibility for another authority to take a position less favourable to the taxpayer. Individual interpretations are necessary in terms of legal certainty. This is a guarantee that the best expert will not replace.
Increase in fee from 40 PLN to 2,000 PLN may make this form of guarantee much less available. This in turn will create a danger of increasing the number of disputes between taxpayers and tax authorities. It is much better to determine the tax consequences before taking a given action than after the fact. Then there may be a spectrum of sanctions.