Is the government preparing any tax changes for us in 2019?
Entrepreneurs are facing changes. The government takes on the taxes. The changes will be big and comprehensive. Simplification and sealing – these are the goals of the published amendment to the tax acts by the Ministry of Finance. Most of the changes are to take effect from the new year. In this article, I will present the most important changes that the government is preparing in 2019.
Lower CIT
The smallest companies (revenues up to EUR 1.2 million per year) and business starters will be pleased with 9%. CIT. Now they pay 15 percent, and the remaining companies pay 19 percent. According to the Ministry of Finance, 440,000 will benefit. CIT taxpayers. Importantly, this is a solution for companies, not for running a business.
Exit tax
This is a tax on unrealized gains in connection with the transfer of company assets to another country. The legislator points to cases where the current state of the taxpayer’s seat or place of business (Poland) has lost the right to tax the income that was actually generated in the period in which a given taxpayer was subject to Polish tax law. Although the exact costs of relocating the business are not yet known, it has been unofficially adopted to tax income from unrealized gains at the level of the basic PIT and CIT rates.
Cryptocurrencies
The Polish government has decided to civilize the subject of cryptocurrencies. Revenues from trading digital money are to be treated as revenues from money capital. The rate will be 19% and the losses will not be deductible. Interestingly, the economic activity of cryptocurrency exchanges will not be treated as income.
Company Cars
Change in the rules for billing company passenger cars. The ministry wants it to be like VAT: who uses it for private purposes deducts 50 percent. VAT and – if changes to the PIT and CIT Acts are introduced – will include only half of the expenses as tax deductible costs. We settle all expenses in the company, keeping detailed records of the car mileage, which shows that we only drive it for business purposes. Entrepreneurs will lose out on this, because today, if they include a car as a fixed asset, they charge all expenses into the costs.
Housing relief
The changes provide for the extension to 3 years of the period in which expenditure must be made to acquire the ownership of another flat or house in order to benefit from housing relief. This means that taxpayers who do not want to pay PIT on income from the sale of real estate, will have one year more to spend the obtained financial benefit for the purchase of another apartment.
PIT for farmers
The amendment to the act on social insurance for farmers introduced a new institution – an agreement on aid with harvest. This regulates the rules of employing a farmer of his helpers. Pursuant to Art. 20 of the act, the income obtained from such an agreement is qualified to the so-called revenues from other sources and as such are subject to taxation according to the tax scale. This means that the employee will pay 18 percent. PIT on income not exceeding PLN 85,528.
Online fiscal registers in 2019
In the first place, online cash registers will have to be introduced by taxpayers who perform the following activities:
- motor vehicle and moped repair services (including tire repair, fitting, retreading and rebuilding)
- tire or wheel replacement services for motor vehicles and mopeds,
- supply of motor gasoline, diesel oil, gas for internal combustion engines;
The above activities will have to be registered at online cash registers from January 1, 2019. In practice, this means that mechanics, vulcanizers, fuel station owners, etc. will have to purchase, report to the office tax and impersonate new devices in 2018 – so that, from the new year, sales will be recorded in accordance with applicable regulations.
Experts admit, however, that even individual elements of positive changes may be unfavorable for taxpayers. It is also difficult to find an expert who would confirm that the package of enacted changes is in line with the 3xP philosophy of the Ministry of Finance, i.e. transparent, simple and friendly taxes.