Hated tax to be eliminated. It is punishing Poles for saving

• The so-called Belka tax is paid on income from bonds, bank deposits and profits from the sale of fund units or shares.
• - As far as the Belka tax is concerned, we are working on a mechanism to reduce it - the head of the Ministry of Finance said in March on "Radio Zet" .

• According to the latest information from the Ministry of Finance, work in this direction is ongoing, but it is difficult to specify a specific date for its completion.

• The actions were announced by the president-elect Karol Nawrocki, who in an interview for DGP informed that on August 6, i.e. on his first day in office, he will submit a draft law "liquidating the Belka tax".

• His proposal assumes exemption from taxation of capital gains up to PLN 140,000 of income per year.

The author of the interpellation to the Ministry of Finance is MP Rafał Komarewicz.

Since 2002, millions of Polish women and men who invest their savings in deposits or stock exchange shares have been punished for their entrepreneurship through capital gains tax. With the above in mind, I was extremely pleased with the minister's announcement regarding changes to this tax by limiting its application. I strongly support this course of action, which will relieve a huge number of our citizens.

- noted the parliamentarian.

In connection with the assurance that the assumptions of these changes would be presented in April this year, he asked the head of the Ministry of Finance the following questions:

1. Has the Ministry of Finance already developed preliminary assumptions regarding the limitation of capital gains tax?
2. If so, can they be made public in response to this interpellation?
3. If the answer to question 1 is negative, when can we expect the Ministry of Finance to make these assumptions public?

In response to an interpellation provided by Deputy Minister Jarosław Neneman, we read that currently the Ministry of Finance is working on amendments to the Personal Income Tax Act of 26 July 1991 (Journal of Laws of 2025, item 163, as amended) in the scope of taxation of income (revenue) from monetary capital.

One of the changes being considered is the reduction of taxation of income from long-term capital investments.

- explains the deputy minister.

However, as he points out, due to the complexity of these regulations, concepts regarding their shape and scope require analysis taking into account many aspects.

"In connection with the above, the presentation of final solutions will only be possible after their final development and agreement," he explains. He adds that currently it is impossible to specify the exact date when these assumptions will be presented to the public by the Ministry of Finance .

Capital gains tax was introduced in 2002 by then finance minister Marek Belka, who held this position in Leszek Miller's government. The popular name of the tax, often called the Belka tax, comes from his surname. The tax covers income - or revenue - from bonds, bank deposits and profits from the sale of securities, such as fund units or shares.

According to the current regulations - as calculated by Forsal.pl - there is a 19% flat-rate tax on income from monetary capital:

• interest on loans,
• interest on securities,
• interest on savings and bank accounts (excluding funds related to business activity),
• dividends and other income from participation in the profits of legal persons,
• income from capital funds,
• income from life or endowment insurance contracts,
• funds paid to persons indicated by deceased OFE members,
• income of members of an employee pension fund from the transfer of shares to the fund's assets,
• income from the liquidation of a partnership, the withdrawal of a partner or a reduction of the capital share, as a result of which Poland loses the right to tax the future sale of assets.

In turn, the 19% income tax applies to income obtained from, among others:

• the sale of securities or derivative financial instruments against payment and the exercise of rights arising therefrom,
• sale of shares (stocks) for consideration,
• sale of shares in a cooperative against payment,
• redemption, repurchase, purchase or other extinction of units in capital funds.

Pulshr.pl portal reminds that in 2024 the Commissioner for Human Rights asked the Minister of Finance to take a position on the justification and direction of possible changes regarding the so-called "Belka tax". The letter emphasized that the Belka tax is socially perceived as a "penalty for saving" .

Changes to the Belka tax would consist in introducing two key solutions to the Personal Income Tax Act:

• exemption from taxation of income (revenue) from long-term savings - i.e. those maintained for at least one year and
• introducing a tax-free amount for income from capital investments, up to certain annual limits.

Karol Nawrocki announced changes to the Belka tax during the campaign. He announced that on August 6, his first day in office, he would submit a bill to "eliminate the Belka tax". The president-elect's proposal assumes exemption from taxation of capital gains up to PLN 140,000 of income per year.