Poland's promise to reduce its Value Added Tax rate to 22% has been delayed.
The Polish VAT rate was increased 1% to 23% in 2011 on the back of the worsening economic conditions in Europe. Whilst Poland was one of the few countries to avoid a technical recession, its government finances did fall considerably. Poland's ambition to join the Euro single currency meant pushed it to raising VAT temporarily to ensure it complied with the 3% government deficit target for Euro entry.
The government is still hoping for an improvement in its finances - a drop in the VAT rate may not come before 2015.
VP Global Indirect Tax
Richard Asquith
Richard Asquith is VP Global Indirect Tax at Avalara, helping businesses understand their compliance obligations as they grow globally. He is part of the European leadership team which this year won International Tax Review's Tax Technology Firm of the Year. Richard qualified as an accountant with KPMG in the UK, and went on to work in Hungary, Russia and France with EY.