FOR Communications

The non-financial corporate sector is the heart of the Polish economy, where over 70% of the Polish GDP is generated.  In 2017, a person working in the sector of non-financial enterprises produced goods and services worth PLN 9.7 thousand on average monthly, but their net remuneration amounted to only PLN 3.1 thousand. What happened to the remaining PLN 6.6 thousand?

Paternalistic regulations harm consumers in the first place, leading to higher prices (e.g. through higher taxes), stigmatisation of some consumers, restriction of freedom of choice, inconvenience in shopping (e.g. as a result of limited days and hours of sale), poorer access to information (e.g. as a result of advertising bans) or deterioration in the quality of products.

​The costs of Kaczyński's Five promises accumulate with the costs of previously announced government programmes, forcing tax increases and reductions in other expenditures, primarily on public services. Despite the high costs, the new programmes do not solve any significant problems, and are focused primarily on the electoral effect.

The Ministry of Business and Technology has provided an Impact Assessment of the restriction of trade on Sundays. The ministry does not recommend changes in the model of reaching a full ban, suggesting only a modification of the regulations "in the direction of further strengthening of small Polish stores".

In the latest edition of the Human Freedom Index 2018, which covers the first year of the rule of the Law and Justice party, Poland ranked 39th out of 162 countries with a score of 7.81 points. The deterioration of the personal liberty rate, to a large extent including the level of the rule of law, is responsible for most of this decline.

The Law and Justice (PiS) party’s new election promises of, namely, the “Kaczyński Five”, will cost the Polish public finances PLN 40 billion per year . In addition, the Law and Justice (PiS) party passed a resolution on the increase in a number of expenditures for the following years, mainly on health care and the army. The implementation of the “Kaczyński Five”, similarly to the PiS election promises of 2015, will force the government to relatively reduce expenditures for other purposes, raise taxes, and increase the deficit.

The introduction of the entrepreneurs' test is not a reform, but an attempt to find additional tax revenues needed to finance Morawski's Five. Giving bureaucrats the right to decide who can use the 19% PIT and who is to pay the full 40% PIT and ZUS contributions will be another source of conflict between the administration and taxpayers.

Is the Disciplinary Chamber an independent court since it was fully formed by the new National Council of the Judiciary, mostly elected by politicians? Such a question from the Supreme Court came before the EU Court of Justice at its hearing in Luxembourg on Tuesday. The procedural nature of the case and the arguments raised during the hearing, as well as the expected decision of the Constitutional Tribunal seem to suggest that the final decision may (at least partially) contribute to limiting the influence of politicians on the Polish justice system.

Almost all of yesterday's interview with Mateusz Morawiecki for the Rzeczpospolita daily, entitled "We Want to give Poles  Peace of Mind and a Prosperous Life" was based on statements that insult the intelligence of the average citizen and thoughts on economic policy, which are in vivid contrast to empirical research. This means that either Morawiecki doesn't know what he's talking about or he knows, but in spite of this he decides to speak untruths, which he encapsulates with magical concepts - spells.

On Thursday, February 21, the Sejm adopted an amendment to the Act on the Principles of State Property Management. It provides for the establishment of a Capital Investment Fund - a special purpose fund through which the Prime Minister will be able to finance the purchase or acquisition by the state of shares in companies. This will be another instrument in the nationalization arsenal of the Law and Justice party.