Government to make value-added tax changes in line with EU regulations

Governmental revenue depends highly on the level of indirect taxes, such as value-added tax (VAT), and is considering increasing it over the next two years. Next year, it is planned to increase VAT on construction materials (from 7% to 12%), newspapers (from 0% to 7%), and a new 7%-VAT will be added to house sales.These proposed increases are expected to yield revenue of zl. 1.5 billion. The proposed VAT changes will also bring Polish law more in line with European Union (EU) regulations. The proposed increased VAT in the construction sector is considered as damaging to the economy by some politicians as construction is a vital growth area at the moment, and impacts the rest of the economy. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 21) A.D.