Civic Platform's flat-tax plan unveiled at national convention yesterday

At its national convention held yesterday, the newly created Civic Platform (PO) revealed its grouping's political agenda, which included a proposal to implement a flat-tax system from the beginning of the year 2003. According to the proposition, taxpayers would be required to pay 15% of income tax regardless of how much they earn. The authors of the project, which include one of the grouping's founders Andrzej Olechowski, emphasize that such a solution would bring about higher economic growth, an increase in jobs and, above all, more transparency in Poland's opaque, labyrinth-like tax system. Civic Platform members said that the year 2003 would be an ideal time to implement such changes, as Poland would have to adjust its VAT regulations to European Union standards anyway. (Zycie, p.6) A.D.