Domański’s ministry will make relief. It will hit millions of Poles

A project of tax changes will appear in the government list of legislative works. Prepared by the Ministry of Finance and Economy, “a draft act amending the act on personal income tax, the Act on corporate income tax and some other acts” is intended to be the originators’ to be “a response to the existing needs regarding the sealing of the tax system” – we read in the justification to the project. “The main premise for the designed changes is the pursuit of the principle of tax justice,” the authors indicate.

One of the ideas of the Ministry of Finance, which would equalize this tax justice, is a fairly significant limitation of housing relief. According to the originators of the changes, the tax exemption would only be due if the taxpayer does not have another residential property.

– Limiting the housing relief only to people who do not have any apartment or house, it is a very radical change and in my opinion raises a lot of doubts – says Piotr Juszczyk, the main tax advisor of Infakt in an interview with “Wprost”.

The housing relief loses its original meaning

The expert points out that planned changes in housing relief can hit people who really allocate funds for the purposes of satisfying housing needs.

– The relief was to protect the situations in which someone sells the property and reinvests funds in another apartment. This solution gives flexibility, the taxpayer can improve his housing conditions, change his place of residence in connection with work or even secure the apartment for a child. The introduction of the “lack of other property” criterion means that all such situations will cease to be treated as their own housing – notes Piotr Juszczyk.

Housing relief – more complicated life than the recipes

According to the tax expert, the proposed changes do not take into account the actual “satisfying housing needs”.

– Life is more complicated than statutory definitions and regulations. You can work in two cities and actually need two apartments, you can want to buy a smaller apartment for a child to study or replace a flat with a house and temporarily have two properties. Such a change deprives taxpayers of the right to relief in situations that are fully fitted in the category of “satisfying housing needs” – explains Piotr Juszczyk.

As an example, he gives a situation in which the taxpayer has two apartments, one received in a donation, which decides to sell to buy a house in Masuria for recreational purposes. Currently, such a transaction entitles you to take advantage of the relief, but after changes it will not be possible.

– In my opinion, the project is part of the tax sealing trend, but this is done at the expense of ordinary citizens. Sealing should not mean rights to those who actually allocate funds for housing purposes – he notes.

Expert: “It’s detached from the reality”

According to the expert, the direction of the proposed change is too restrictive and detached from the realities.

– The housing relief should be clarified, but in a way that will exclude abuse, and will not hit taxpayers who want to realistically improve their housing conditions or take care of the family – sums up Juszczyk.