Increased penalties for tax crimes and offences from July 1

Increased penalties for tax crimes and offences from July 1, 2024

As a reminder, from 1 July 2024, taxpayers who commit tax crimes or offences will face higher penalties. This change is due to the increase in the minimum wage, which is now set at 4,300 PLN.

Increase in penalties and new minimum wage

The increase in the minimum wage from 4,242 PLN to 4,300 PLN will directly affect the amount of penalties for tax crimes and offenses. According to the regulation of the Council of Ministers from September 14, 2023, the new minimum wage took effect from July 1, 2024 onwards.

Tax crimes and offenses

The Penal Fiscal Code distinguishes between tax crimes and tax offenses. A tax crime is an act prohibited under the threat of a fine calculated in daily rates, restriction of liberty, or imprisonment. A tax offence is an act prohibited under the threat of a fixed fine if the amount of the reduced or threatened in its’ entirety public law liability or the value of the act does not exceed five times the minimum wage.

The threshold between an offence and a crime from July 1, 2024, stays at 21,500 PLN.

Penalties for tax crimes

Penalties for tax crimes are imposed in daily rates. According to the Penal Fiscal Code, when imposing a fine, the court determines the number of daily rates and the amount of each rate. Unless otherwise stated, the minimum number of rates is 10, and the maximum is 720. A fine of up to 200 daily rates can be imposed by summary judgment unless the code provides for a lighter penalty. When determining the daily rate, the court considers the offender’s income, personal, family, and financial situation, and earning of living capacity. The daily rate cannot be neither lower than one-thirtieth of the minimum wage nor exceed its four-hundredfold times.

From July 1, 2024, the daily rate can range from 143.34 PLN to 57,336 PLN.

Therefore, a fine cannot be less than 1,433.40 PLN, and the maximum amount cannot exceed 41,281,920 PLN.

Penalties for tax offenses

The fine for a tax offence is set as a fixed amount. It can be in the range from one-tenth to twenty times the minimum wage unless otherwise specified by the law.

An offence is a prohibited act if the amount of reduced or threatened public law liability does not exceed five times the minimum wage at the time it was committed. This means that from July 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, an offence will be an unlawful act if the amount of tax dodging does not exceed 21,500 PLN.

From July 1, 2024, the minimum fine for a tax offence will be 430 PLN, and the maximum will be 86,000 PLN.

Summary

Changes in the minimum wage directly affect the amount of penalties for tax crimes and offenses. The increase in the minimum wage to 4,300 PLN from July 1, 2024, onwards, will result in higher minimum and maximum financial penalties for taxpayers who violate tax regulations.

Legal basis:
Tax criminal code in its’ primordial version dated 10th of September, 1999.

If you have any further questions or require additional information, please contact your business relationship person or use the enquiry form on the HLB Poland website.

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