Income tax breaks on the horizon for registered private pensions contributions

According to unofficial sources, the Finance Ministry has reacted positively to a proposal of Sejm deputies to introduce tax breaks for people saving in voluntary pension plans. According to the proposal, a person paying monthly pension premiums of zl. 50, would be able to deduct zl. 114 from their annual personal income tax. Depending on the number of people who choose this form of saving, the budget would lose some zl. 250 million- zl. 400 million a year in tax revenues. "The government is generally in favor of introducing tax breaks for people saving in pension plans. The only question is when and on what terms," said deputy Labor Minister Krzysztof Pater. At present, only around 30,000 people are registered in Common Pension Programs (PPEs). Meanwhile, the assumptions of the pension reform of 1999 were that PPEs would constitute a significant part of the country's pension system, with around half of the workforce participating in them. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 1) T.J.