Poland to double tax-free allowance in gradual rollout, senator says
Poland's ruling Civic Coalition (KO) will fulfill its campaign pledge to double the tax-free allowance to PLN 60,000 (EUR 13,846) before the end of the current parliamentary term, KO Senator Grzegorz Schetyna announced on Thursday.
Speaking to private broadcaster Radio Zet, Schetyna said that budget constraints mean a likely gradual rollout of the policy rather than an immediate implementation.
"We will enter the decision-making pipeline and we will indeed fulfil this commitment before the end of this term," he said. "I do not know if we can do it all at once, but breaking it down into subsequent steps is definitely the plan."
The proposal was a cornerstone of KO's "100 Specifics for the First 100 Days" platform ahead of the 2023 parliamentary elections. The plan aims to raise the tax-free threshold from PLN 30,000 (EUR 6,923) to PLN 60,000 PLN for taxpayers on the progressive tax scale, including entrepreneurs and retirees.
Schetyna argued that KO would fail to win the next elections if it failed to deliver on "such spectacular campaign promises". He added that while the commitment must be honoured, its final execution depends on negotiations with KO's current junior coalition partners The Left, the agrarian Polish People's Party and the centre-right Poland 2050.
Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, a deputy prime minister and the PSL leader, told private broadcaster TVN24 on Wednesday that Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski "is working on the measure".
"The promise to raise the tax-free allowance will be fulfilled. I believe this is fundamental for the entire coalition," Kosiniak-Kamysz said, adding that PSL is waiting for a well-thought-out proposal from the finance ministry.
However, the fiscal reality poses significant challenges. Last year, Domanski said that a hike in 2026 is off the table, and implementation in 2027 remains "very difficult". The finance ministry estimates that doubling the allowance from the current PLN 30,000 will cost the state budget PLN 54 billion (EUR 12.5 billion) annually. (PAP)
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