EU will probe Poland's retail tax - Rzeczpospolita

The European Commission is questioning the lawfulness of Poland's retail tax, according to unofficial information by Rzeczspopolita. "Up to PLN 1.5 billion the government may lose after the EC will outlaw the tax," the newspaper said. The Commission is not challenging the rationale for the introduction of a new fiscal burden nor its height, but the progressivity of the tax, which selectively favors small firms. The line of reasoning is the same as in the Hungarian case, Rzeczpospolita said. Poland has introduced the retail tax with two rates of 0.8 percent for turnover between PLN 17 and PLN 70 million and 1.4 percent for turnover above PLN 170 million.  The levy also includes PLN 17 million tax-free turnover. In July 2015, the European Commission obliged the Hungarian government to withhold from deducting a similar tax and launched a probe into its compliance with the EU law. A year later, the executive body decided that it breached the EU rules, however Hungary had earlier altered it by introducing a flat rate.