And how can you not vote for PiS?
Mateuszek Kłamczuszek announced last Thursday that the great program of modernization of our tax system, which was supposed to make Poland a land flowing with milk and honey, will end up in the trash in less than four months.
Even though from the very beginning, no reasonable person had any doubts that the Polish Deal was just a tax dud, the Liar, obsessed with his oratorical skills, was determined to convince Poles that this nicely packaged crap would taste like candy to them.
First, for half a year he touted what groundbreaking changes awaited us from January and how much taxpayers would gain from them. Then, when the implementation turned out to be a flop, he proved that the problems were temporary, and the changes made deep sense and that in a moment everyone would feel their benefits. However, we will not live to see the fruits, because the crap will be withdrawn.
At the press conference announcing the changes, he expressed no regret for the confusion. He did not apologise to the people whose RORs he had messed up, to the teachers and nurses who rubbed their eyes in surprise in January when they looked at their pay slips, or to the accountants who had been given a health path in the first months of the year. The phrase "Polish Deal" never crossed his lips. It had clearly become embarrassing for him too.
What are the changes announced by Mateuszek?
These are the four fundamental changes for salaried employees. There are also changes for companies, but they have been announced rather vaguely, so I won't write about them.
The first change is the elimination of the so-called "middle class relief". This was an idiotic solution introduced as part of the Polish Deal to compensate for the elimination of the possibility of deducting health insurance contributions from tax. The relief applied to people earning between PLN 5,700 and PLN 11,400 and reduced tax from zero to PLN 200 depending on the level of income.
The second change is to recognize the health insurance premium as a cost of earning income. Until now, the health insurance premium could not be deducted from taxable income. For example, an employee earning PLN 10,000 full-time currently pays a health insurance premium of PLN 777. And on this health insurance premium, he or she also pays tax of 17%, or PLN 132. This "double beating" is an idiotic solution and does not occur in other tax systems outside Poland.
The third change is to restore the possibility of joint settlement of accounts with a child by single parents. The Polish Deal eliminated this possibility, which was an idiotic solution.
The fourth change is to reduce the tax rate for income below the tax threshold from 17% to 12%.
A salaried employee receiving the minimum wage has gained 154 PLN net per month under the Polish Deal. The changes announced by Mateuszek will give him nothing.
A salaried employee receiving a salary of PLN 5,000 per month under the Polish Deal gained PLN 47. The changes announced by Mateuszek will give him PLN 250 per month, i.e. compared to the situation before the Polish Deal, he will earn PLN 297 more.
A salaried employee receiving a salary of PLN 10,000 per month lost PLN 203 under the Polish Deal. As a result of the changes announced by Mateuszek, he will receive PLN 428 per month, i.e. compared to the situation before the Polish Deal, he will earn PLN 225 more.
A salaried employee receiving a salary of PLN 15,000 per month under the Polish Deal lost PLN 622. As a result of the changes announced by Mateuszek, he will receive PLN 775 per month, i.e. compared to the situation before the Polish Deal, he will earn PLN 153 more.
A salaried employee receiving a salary of PLN 20,000 per month under the Polish Deal lost PLN 956. As a result of the changes announced by Mateuszek, he will receive PLN 1,036 per month, i.e. compared to the situation before the Polish Deal, he will earn more by PLN 80.
To sum up, on January 1st Janosik came to us, took a few hundred zlotys from higher earners and gave a few dozen zlotys to lower earners. After three months, Janosik came to the conclusion that this could not be the case. So he announced that in three months he would give back to higher earners what he had taken from them and on top of that he would add a hundred to each so that they would forget what he had done to them at the beginning of the year. And to lower earners he would add a few hundred so that they would have no doubts about how great Janosik is.
Apparently, our authorities assessed that the Polish Deal, instead of being a vehicle for electoral victory, was more of a nail in the coffin, and it was necessary to quickly put together something that would cover up this unpleasant aftertaste.
It is worth noting another interesting issue. Mateuszek announced that the changes will come into effect on January 1, 2023, with an effective date of July 1, 2022. At first glance, this announcement seems a bit convoluted, but if you take a closer look, everything looks precisely thought out. It looks like the authorities want the benefits from the new distribution to reach taxpayers just before the elections planned for November next year. If the regulations come into effect on January 1, 2023, with an effective date of July 1, 2022, a full-time employee receiving a salary of PLN 10,000 gross, settling the PIT for 2022 in April 2023, will receive a tax refund of PLN 3,800 in May or June 2023. The money will appear in the account 3 months before the elections. Nice idea. And how can you not vote for this PIS?
