Officials in fear after Stanowski’s words. “I bought pepper spray”

Journalist Krzysztof Stanowski described the issue of a fine for PLN 2.5 thousand in Program Zero. PLN, which was exhibited in Gdańsk. Employees of the tax office bought a pizza with shrimps, and instead of the 23% rate on the receipt, VAT was charged only 8%. Seafood has been treated as a luxury good since 2020, so a higher rate applies.

Stanowski insulted the official. Did it cause a wave of hate?

The head of Channel Zero said that such detail and such high penalties are stupid. – This man will go to hell. You stupid, mean, disgusting woman, do you think that we hired you in the Polish state to go around wondering what kind of crazy pizza to order, so that the VAT rate would not be obvious, so that you could give a normal entrepreneur a fine of PLN 2.5 thousand? zloty? They should keep you in the market square, stripped naked, pinned to a pole, so that everyone can see how stupid an official can be, Stanowski thundered.

– A guy has been paying taxes all his life, running a legal business, and such a scoundrel comes and may not ruin his business, but disrupts it. She has money from his hard work, he continued. Following his words, the director of the Tax Administration Chamber in Gdańsk submitted a report on the suspicion of committing a crime.

“Gazeta Wyborcza” now draws attention to the hate that Stanowski’s speech caused. – KAS officials and officers do not remember the scale of aggression and contempt that these words evoked – said Agata Jagodzińska, head of the Trade Union Alternative in KAS, in an interview with journalists.

To prove her words, she showed several entries on social media attacking representatives of the tax office. There is a lot of vulgarity and unpleasant statements. In anonymous statements, officials admit that they are now afraid to perform their duties, and the aggression of online comments has shaken them greatly.

– It happened to me before that people spat at me, but now stones may be thrown. Who knows who you will encounter during the next inspection, said one of the women. Another official admitted that there had always been a group of businessmen who hated controllers. – Do you think that they, now so emboldened, will remain silent during the inspection? – he asked.

Tax office representative: I’m afraid it will escalate

“GW” pointed out that on the night of June 24-25, stones were thrown at the building of the Warsaw-Praga Tax Office. – Physical violence does not come from a vacuum. Heating up emotions and attacking officials can lead to very dangerous consequences – commented the head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, Marcin Kierwiński.

– I have been working in the tax office for 24 years and I don’t remember a similar situation. Yes, there were aggressive clients and individual cases of damage to official property. But for someone to throw stones at the tax office? Never. I’m at a loss for words, Jagodzińska said. She admitted that, especially in small towns, officials are afraid to go out. She mentioned a situation when photos of tax office employees were published online.

She admitted that tax office representatives were never particularly liked. – There were also cases where armed officers had to be called for inspections because the situation was becoming dangerous. And I’m afraid that now it will escalate, she said.

She also expressed concerns about this year’s “Summer” campaign, which involves combating the seasonal gray zone in gastronomy. – I know that there are regions where this action is postponed. Or maybe it will be canceled because of Krzysztof Stanowski’s prank? – asked a trade union representative.