Polish Order 2.0 and the transport industry – what changes await carriers?
Not so long ago, at the beginning of 2022, a new tax system called the Polish Deal went into effect. In theory, the idea was to simplify the existing settlement for employers and accountants, and thus reduce taxes somewhat. However, the situation was reversed, and problems and inaccuracies arising from the new program forced those in power to revise the personal income tax law again. In addition, a number of demands that were originally intended to be crucial in terms of settlement were eliminated.
The renewed changes have also hit the TSL industry. Will the introduction of the new “Low Taxes” reform, also referred to as the Polish Deal 2.0, be successful this time from the carriers’ perspective?
What has the Polish Deal 2.0 changed?
The amendment to the Polish Deal law came into effect on July 1, 2022. The announcements were promising at times, and mainly concerned the transparency of the new regulations and simplification in their application. The biggest change in the entire reform was the reduction of the first tax threshold from 17 percent to 12 percent. Currently, its amount reaches 120 thousand zlotys. Any payer who falls within such a sum will be obliged to pay a smaller advance tax payment to the Tax Office.
Other demands include, for example, the abolition of the relief for the middle class or the reduction of the monthly tax-free amount from PLN 425 to PLN 300. It is worth mentioning that the amount is still PLN 30,000. on an annual basis.
What changes resulting from the Polish Deal 2.0 will carriers experience?
The previous parts of the reform were aimed at all employees and employers in general. Instead, let’s focus on the transport industry itself, and more specifically on the costs borne by carriers. The new reform implies that they can expect lower employer costs. However, it is not specified what specific sums will be saved by entrepreneurs on the Polish Order 2.0. Preliminary findings suggest that, depending on the type of employment and the rate, a carrier can save from a dozen to as much as PLN 400 per employee.
One expert who specializes in analyzing billing issues commented on the whole matter clearly. In his opinion, the overall savings from driver billing, is affected by a great many factors. Everything depends on how truckers were billed until the new reform came into force. Some of them may have been supported by middle-class relief, while others benefited from the ability to roll over advance tax payments. From all the talk, the employer’s cost as of July this year could be as much as 4.5 percent less than it was a year earlier. The condition, however, is that the employer does not take advantage of all the reliefs that were included in the first package of the Polish Deal.
Rollover of advances
The new Polish Deal 2.0 program repealed the system of deferring advance tax payments. At first, the rollover was intended to benefit only employees, who would be subject to more favorable settlement terms. Namely, it is about a lower advance payment for employees depending on the calculation in the tax system in 2021 or 2022. With the changes, some employees have a better chance of getting a tax refund.