Deputy Minister of Finance: "We are thinking about introducing an amount free from Belka's tax"

Drop drills Rock? There are many indications of this, if, of course, we believe in the announcements of politicians. Deputy Minister of Finance Artur Soboń admitted that the ministry is working on introducing an amount free of capital gains tax. This is quite a surprise, because so far the position of government representatives has been adamant - the so-called Belka's tax was impossible to move.

Recall: we currently pay 19% tax on all capital gains. Regardless of whether we speculate on forex, we invest in stocks or even keep our savings in an interest-bearing bank deposit. We have to return almost one-fifth of the profits to the tax office every year.

Bottom-up efforts to abolish this tax have been underway for years. There are many arguments, and the most important is double taxation. After all, the money on the deposit had already been earned, and income tax was paid on them. From time to time, new actions were created, collecting signatures and sending petitions to the Ministry of Finance.

The answer was always the same: changes are not planned, and similar solutions are in place in most civilized countries. Examples of those that are more restrictive were also shown: in Denmark, for example, you have to pay as much as 42% tax on capital gains.

Warming relations with investors and savers

In recent months, however, this narrative has started to change. Katarzyna Szwarc, the plenipotentiary of the Ministry of Finance for Capital Market Development Strategy, said in an interview with Business Insider journalists that a discussion on the progressive tax on capital gains is needed.

I believe that we should start discussing whether the capital gains tax should not be progressive in the future. Currently, it is so that Kowalski, who saves several hundred zlotys in the bank and gains on interest, pays the same tax as an investor who invests hundreds of thousands of zlotys, e.g. on the stock exchange. Here is a field for discussion about whether the tax should not be changed and different depending on who pays it and what is investing - Katarzyna Szwarc underlines

Will the amount be tax-free of Belka?

Now we have more statements that give even more hope for change. Artur Soboń, deputy finance minister, admitted on the RMF FM radiothat concrete work on the changes is already underway, although it made a reservation that the complete abolition of the tax on capital gains cannot be expected.

We are working on a solution to the tax-free amount, analogous to income tax, for the capital gains tax - he said in the program "Conversations at noon" Artur Soboń, deputy head of the Ministry of Finance

It is about those who have little income, have some investments, and have some profits on that account - he explained.

However, he did not give any details, because they probably do not exist yet. So it is not known whether it will be a fixed amount free for everyone, or depending, for example, on how much money you have in the financial market, or how much you earned in the previous year.

The so-called Belka tax for 20 years

The capital gains tax was introduced in Poland 20 years ago by Marek Belka, the then Minister of Finance. It was his name that gave rise to a common name that is widely known and used even in financial circles.

Two years ago, a petition for its abolition was sent to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki by the Trading Jam Foundation, associating 38. individual investors in Poland.

In an open letter that anyone can sign, the following was written:

“The Belka tax was introduced temporarily in its assumptions, and this is the nineteenth anniversary of its operation. Dark clouds are gathering over the Polish nation as a consequence of THE GREAT LOCKDOWN crisis. It is not only about taxes on the profits of stock exchange investors, but also small savers who accumulate their savings on deposits. In the face of the current cyclical fluctuations, citizens cannot be made to be paid to have their savings held.

According to a study Belka's tax revenues to the budget do not account for even 1 percent. Capital gains tax is at the forefront of the main discouraging issues in the National Investor Survey.

This tax has a negative impact on the motivation of many Poles to invest in the Polish economy through the Stock Exchange. This state is reflected in the low percentage of individual investors on the WSE compared to the 90s and 2004-2008. " - wrote the president of the foundation, Rafał Zaorski.

However, thousands of signatures had to mature for the ministry to start considering the changes. In the coming months, we should see if there is really any chance for any changesis it just one of the promises of the accelerating pre-election festival?