Thousands of shopkeepers protest retail tax in Warsaw

“Do not let the Polish trade get buried!,” read banners being carried by the small-and-medium-sized traders during the march on Thursday, who fear that the new tax will eat into their livelihood.

At 1:00 pm CET, the organisers of the protest handed the speaker of Polish parliament a petition for changes to the draft law on tax on retail sales. The document was signed by some 15,000 shopkeepers.

Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka

According to plans announced by the Finance Ministry in late December, the tax will be progressive with three rates, 0.7, 1.3 and 1.9 percent, and a tax-free allowance of PLN 1.5 million (EUR 0.3 million) per month.

The tax, which was proposed as part of the Law and Justice (PiS) party’s election campaign last year, was originally meant to apply to supermarkets with a retail area of over 250 square meters before being amended to its current form.

“The tax will give small commercial enterprises in Poland a fighting chance to compete on the market,” Prime Minister Beata Szydło told members of the retail industry during consultations last month.

Szydło added that such a tax sends a message to Polish retailers that “they have a tool, which, if used right, can give them a chance to compete and stay afloat on the market”.(rg)