Corporate Income Tax reductions will be dependent on the state of the budget

The Finance Ministry announced yesterday that future cuts in corporate income tax (CIT), currently standing at 28%, would depend on the budgetary situation, backing away from a regulation envisaging a reduction to 22% by 2004. The left-wing cabinet has already reduced the scale of the tax cut for 2003, shaving the rate by one percentage point to 27%, rather than the promised cut of four points. The previous cabinet passed a law to slash the corporate tax rate to 22% by 2004 in a bid to revive economic growth. "The government plans to lower CIT to envisaged levels, but this will depend on the situation with the national budget," Deputy Finance Minister Wieslaw Ciesielski told a news conference. "I cannot say what the rate will be in 2004 and 2005," he added. (Reuters)