“Belka tax” remains, but with changes

Proposals for changes in the so called “Belka tax regulation” included in the Civic Coalition’s election program envisaged the possibility of eliminating this tax in the case of investments of up to PLN 100,000 and an investment period of more than one year. Investors, therefore, followed with interest the development of ideas related to changes in the regulations on this tax. The Belka tax is often pointed to as the source of Poles’ reluctance to invest.

What is the Belka tax?

The Belka tax, or more precisely capital gains tax, is regulated in Articles 30a and 30b of the PIT Law. It applies to income from capital investments, i.e. profits from bonds, stocks, equity funds, interest, dividends, securities. Currently, the tax rate is 19% on profits earned by individuals. It should be borne in mind that only the profit is taxed, not the invested funds.

Modifications in Capital Gain Tax

Work is currently underway to modify the tax, but it is not expected to be completely abolished. The new regulations are intended to support long-term investments by introducing the aforementioned investment limit, which means that small investors will pay less capital gains tax. The draft changes were supposed to be made available by the end of February, but they have yet to be officially released.

Thus, the most significant change is to be the introduction of an investment limit of 100 thousand zlotys, within which the Belka tax will not actually be paid. Thus, by depositing funds in deposits or bonds, from investments of which the amount of profit will not exceed the said limit, taxpayers will not have to pay tax.

Favorable changes

The changes in question are intended to encourage investment, and the projected amount of the limit is a high ceiling (it applies to profit, so de facto to reach the limit you need to invest a significant amount of your own money). After the changes, therefore, the tax would affect only those with a more affluent portfolio.