Still in the black

The Polish Confederation of Private Employers (PKPP) Lewiatan has published its third Black List of Barriers, which is a list of the main hindrances to doing business in Poland. The confederation's president, Henryka Bochniarz, says the number of barriers in 2005 has not decreased from previous years and many of the obstacles named by PKPP now were on the list a year ago.

PKPP's economic adviser, Jeremi Mordasewicz, singled out the VAT bill, income tax changes and excise regulation changes as necessary in the tax field. "The thing that disturbs us most is the limiting of reinbursable costs only to those directly linked with incomes," he said with regards to income tax, explaining that costs which don't directly influence a business' revenue (such as those of visiting an industry trade fair) may not be eligible for reimbursement.

He also said that the level of excise should be set in a bill, as right now the Sejm and Finance Minister set it every year. "This results in entrepreneurs not knowing what awaits them and makes long-term planning harder," said Mordasewicz.

The situation in the construction sector was also heavily criticized by entrepreneurs. "Nothing has changed for the better," Mordasewicz said. Lack of special development plans, lack of updated maps of areas suitable for construction, and insufficient preparation for development have all contributed to the current supply crisis in the industry.

Although 2005 saw a fall in unemployment, the director of PKPP's social dialogue department, Jacek Męcina, says that more jobs could be created if indirect costs of labor were lower, labor law regulations were more elastic, and red-tape was reduced. "Giving SMEs a chance to grow is essential if we want to increase employment," Mięcina explained.