PO and PiS with new election promises

The ruling party Civic Platform (PO) and the opposition Law and Justice (PiS), which currently leads polls, organized their conventions and presented the economic programs. PO's offers appeared to be quite revolutionary and shocking, however according to many economists', Poland has needed such strategies for a long time. PO plans to introduce progressive unified personal tax rates, which will include mandatory pension and health care contributions paid by the state, now paid separately from an employee salary. "This is a project of a great change in the tax philosophy in Poland," Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz said at a party convention. The party estimated that the reform would cost the budget some PLN 10 billion. Mateusz Szczurek, the Minister of the Finance explained that the new taxes will consist of a progressive rate from 10 percent up to 39.5 percent for households with the highest income per member, stressing that the reform may be implemented in 2017 or 2018. The ruling party also proposed changing the labor law, by introducing uniform contracts, thus eliminating civil contracts and contracts of employment. In addition, PO would like to set a minimum hourly gross wage at PLN 12. Law and Justice maintained its earlier plans of a new tax imposed on lenders and supermarkets, lower taxes for small firms, but announced an offer for free medicine for people aged over 75 years old. PiS also wants to introduce the minimum hourly wage at PLN 12.