Poland actively participates in the EU's OECD Base Erosion Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, which aims to limit double taxation and counter unfair underselling of public tributes. As part of the project, the agreement between the Republic of Poland and Baliwatt Guernsey on the avoidance of double taxation of certain categories of personal income, originally signed on 8 October 2013
Base Erosion Profit Shifting (BEPS) is a term used in the international public debate on tax avoidance and ways to counter unfair underselling of public tributes. It has become synonymous with the trend towards tax reform and tax change. The deadline was distributed by the OECD Report on the Anti-BEPS, also known as the BEPS Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, published on 19 July 2013, containing 15 measures to be taken by States to prevent unfair avoidance and transfer profits to tax havens.
The project signed in May a protocol amending the agreement between Poland and Baliwatt Guernsey on the avoidance of double taxation of certain categories of personal income. The conclusion of the protocol is another example of the increased initiative of the Ministry of Finance to seal the Polish tax system.
According to Minister of Finance Magdalena Raczkowska, “the signing of the Protocol amending the agreement with Balivit Guernsey is part of a coherent tax policy of Poland aimed at limiting the use of double taxation agreements in aggressive tax planning.
This is also evidence of a strong political will to fight tax fraud together and a level playing field for companies operating on our markets. There are situations where taxpayers exploit the weaknesses of tax agreements for the implementation of complex optimization schemes that serve to avoid paying taxes.
This is another example of effective implementation of the implementation policy for the highest standards developed by the OECD in Poland."
The main purpose of the Protocol was to align the provisions mentioned in the introduction of the tax avoidance agreement with those laid down in Paris on 24 November 2016 The Multilateral Convention implementing measures of Treaty tax law aimed at preventing the erosion of the tax base and the transfer of profits, commonly referred to as the MLI Convention.
Author: Jan Markowicz Advocate, graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Silesia in Katowice in the direction of Law. In professional practice, it focuses on the legal and tax service of economic operators and individuals. Author of publications and articles on tax law.