Tax arrears continue to grow but Finance Ministry optimistic about future

Rzeczpospolita has learned that the total outstanding arrears in personal income tax to the Treasury had reached zl. 15.04 billion at the end of September - 0.7%, or zl. 96 million, more than in August. In comparison, the increase in July was 2.4%, which allows the Finance Ministry to predict that the growth to date will lose its impetus. Nevertheless, the overall tendency leaves little room for optimism as, after nine months of this year, tax arrears had increased by 18.9% to total zl. 15.45 billion. According to Finance Ministry experts, the slight recovery may be a result of the promised debt clearance "amnesty" which obliges companies set to benefit from the new regulations to pay their taxes regularly. According to the Ministry, arrears in taxes will grow by 39% by the end of the year - around zl. 4.7 billion - while next year, the figure is to fall by 48%. The most "problematic" areas have been VAT and excise, which together constitute 72% of the total amount outstanding. (Rzeczpospolita, p.B1) J.K.