Germany fears losing investors due to low taxes in Poland and Central Europe

Schroeder added that this issue might become a dispute during negotiations for financial aid from the Union. "I treat Chancellor's announcement as a huge compliment," commented the Polish government's spokesman, Marcin Kaszuba. Schroeder emphasized that in the ten new member states the tax paid by companies is on average below 20%, whereas it is over 30% in the current EU countries. The lowest tax rates are currently in Estonia where it is 0% and Lithuania with 15% (Poland has a 19% rate). German politicians also showed concern that some of the new members, such as the Czech Republic have lowered their tax rates just before accession. Another problem Schroeder fears is that these countries hope to finance investments from EU funds, instead of putting the costs on local companies. (Parkiet, p. 2; Rzeczpospolita, p. B1) A.K.