Higher tax. The Ministry denies it, but there may be something to it

The website money.pl found out that the Ministry of Finance is considering the idea of ​​increasing the tax on people renting apartments in order to encourage people with free funds to invest on the capital market – on the stock exchange. For several years now, a trend has been observed where everyone with more funds buys a flat for rent. This results in market drainage because apartments quickly disappear from the offer and it is more difficult for people using loans to buy them. Redirecting the attention of the wealthier part of society to other investment areas could result in a larger pool of apartments for families who buy apartments for everyday needs.

Rental tax. The ministry denies that it is working on changes

Today, most landlords pay 8.5 percent. lump sum tax (in the settlement for the tax year 2022, approximately 883,000 landlords benefited from the 8.5% lump sum tax).

The ministry denied the findings of the money.pl journalist. “Due to false information appearing in the public space, we would like to inform you that the Ministry of Finance is not working on an increase in the flat-rate tax for people settling apartment rentals,” it was written in an entry on the X platform.

The website's informants argue that something is up.

– Andrzej Domański has been walking around the market for a long time and says that he wants to build an investment culture in Poland, somewhat similar to what is happening in the USA. Americans invest not only in apartments, but above all, they invest funds on the capital market, investing in investment funds, directly in companies listed on the stock exchange, etc. For this to happen, the flow of this money must be stimulated through the tax system, said one of the trusted associates of the Minister of Finance. .

A higher tax may result in the development of the gray zone

Minister Domański, in his appearances in various media, argues that Polish listed companies need an injection from investors, so the entire economy would benefit.

– I would like to take the first step and make the capital gains tax in Poland a little lower. In the coming years, we will see what else the state budget situation will allow us to do, but this tax will not be completely eliminated, at least in the near future. However, I would like ultimately for investments in various markets in Poland to be taxed in a similar way, he announced.

However, there is a risk of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Just a few years ago, a huge part of renting was a gray area: landlords collected remuneration from tenants in cash every month. Over time, the number of people settling income from rent with the tax office began to increase. Raising the tax may result in at least some landlords returning to the gray zone.