Sejm passes VAT law on telecom services
By : Roseanne Gerin
The Sejm passed an amendment last week to the Law on Goods and Services, reducing the value-added tax (VAT) on telecommunications service for Internet connections from 22% to 7%. The proposal had been passed by the Senate - the upper house of Parliament - on June 8, and will now be sent to President Aleksander Kwasniewski to sign.
The amendment was drafted by the Communications Ministry, the Finance Ministry and two Senate committees - the Commission on Knowledge and Education and the Commission of National Economy - to lower VAT on Internet service for a government-sponsored program promoting Internet usage in schools.
The law, which covers all telecom-related Internet access service including access via cable television, would take effect on Jan. 1, 2002. One shortfall of the amendment, however, is that the proposal does not provide a legal definition of the term "teleinformatyczne," or the telecommunications services that would be affected by the amendment, thereby leaving room for wide interpretation as to exactly which services could be included.
Communications Minister Tomasz Szyszko said last week that his ministry and the Finance Ministry would have to provide a more precise definition as to which Internet services would be eligible for the 7% VAT.
