Poland’s tax system attractive for real estate investors - report

Poland has the lowest tax burden on commercial real estate investments earmarked for sale, of 4.41 percent, from among 20 countries analyzed in a Total Tax Take survey by tax advisors’ association Taxand. The low tax burden on commercial properties is the product of a full VAT deduction, combined with no administrative levies on sale and the relatively low CIT rate, said Paweł Toński, partner and head of Real Estate at Crido Taxand. The investment categories analyzed in the report included also residential investments by a developer, residential investment designated for lease and commercial investment for lease. Poland came in fourth in terms of the lowest tax burdens on developer residential investments with combined tax at 11.85 percent. Investors deciding on residential investments for lease will pay in total 24 percent of tax and those investing in commercial properties for lease will pay 16.33 percent in tax. Among the countries examined, the UK and Switzerland were the most attractive real estate investment locations in terms of tax burdens, while the US was the most tax-heavy country, mainly due to the non-deductible sales tax on construction materials and income tax.