In an effort to avoid the new bank tax, lenders in Poland are moving their activities outside the country, warned the head of the country’s Public Finance Commision Andrzej Jaworski. “The Ministry of Finance is already familiar with the matter and it’s being now monitored,” said Jaworski, adding that if the move were to prove illegal, the banks may face charges.
Poland’s Minister of Finance Konrad Raczkowski vowed that the practice will be considered to be illegal tax optimization. “We’re observing efforts from some foreign banks to weaken the market position of the Polish lenders, as they move their lending outside Poland,” Raczkowski said adding that the capital outflow is significant.
Poland’s biggest lenders, PKO BP, Pekao and BZ WBK have calculated that new law will cut into their profits substantially. The country’s biggest lender, the state-run PKO BP, predicts that it would pay PLN 812m in taxes for 2016.
