Biznes Fakty
Presidential veto. Minister: someone doesn't understand something
Karol Nawrocki is impeding deregulation laws meant to simplify processes for entrepreneurs and citizens. The president’s actions are detrimental to Poles, stated Maciej Berek, the minister responsible for executing government policy, on Tuesday.
On Monday, the President declared his veto against amendments to the Fiscal Penal Code and the Tax Ordinance, among other items, which aimed to lessen penalties for minor fiscal offenses, such as failing to submit or delaying the submission of mandatory declarations and information. Nawrocki expressed his disagreement with „reducing penalties for financial crimes given the critical state of Polish public finances.”
Penalties were to be reduced, but for minor mistakes, not crimes.
In a video shared on platform X on Tuesday, Berek remarked that the modifications to tax regulations included in the amendment were designed to „slightly rationalize penalties, but not for tax crimes, as has been suggested, not for tax evasion, but for minor, formal inaccuracies, for mistakes.”
The minister further mentioned that existing regulations permit the imposition of „severe penalties on accountants and their clients,” often small enterprises, for trivial infractions and mistakes. „These penalties were meant to be reduced. Someone is misinterpreting the situation if they believe that blocking these bills is beneficial,” Berek stated.
A punishment that fits the offense
He emphasized that the principle is that the punishment should correspond to the offense.
„If you commit a serious offense, you should face significant legal repercussions. However, if you have committed a minor offense, the penalties should be suitably moderated, not exaggerated,” Berek noted.
He also mentioned that President Nawrocki blocked this alteration, which was developed in collaboration with entrepreneurs. Berek asserted that the president’s decisions are harmful to entrepreneurs and citizens.
What did the amendment vetoed by the president change?
The rejected amendment, part of the government’s deregulation initiative, sought to lessen penalties for tax infractions that do not lead to direct tax losses. The new thresholds for court-imposed fines were set to be 480 daily rates (PLN 29,862,336) instead of 720 daily rates (PLN 44,793,504) or 120 daily rates (PLN 7,465,584) instead of 240 daily rates (PLN 14,931,168).
Moreover, the amendment aimed to abolish the requirement for tax remitters/collectors to report individuals responsible for calculating, collecting, and remitting taxes. The vetoed legislation also intended to remove the penalty for failing to appoint a tax collector.
