In Brief: Tax office loan?; Duties on beer; EU funds remain VAT free

When in need of capital it is better not to pay taxes than to turn to bank for a loan Rzeczpospolita has learned. The newspaper has found out the cost of a month-long arrears in tax payment is lower than that of a bank loan. (Rzeczpospolita, May 31) ... The Economy Ministry has lifted the preferential tariff on Czech beer, thus raising it to 14%. The move is Poland's retaliation against the Czech's introduction of restrictions on imports of Polish beef (Parkiet, May 31) ... Prior to Poland's accession to the EU the excise duty on beer will be lowered, which is to help Polish producers survive on the EU market. The news has been officially published on the Finance Ministry's website (Gazeta Prawna, June 4) ... All services financed with EU funds will continue to be subject to 0 % VAT, the government has decided (Gazeta Prawna, June 4) (Tax News is based on PricewaterhouseCoopers Tax Department web service, www.taxonline.pl) J.K.