Prime Minister Donald Tusk initially promised to double the annual tax-free income allowance to 60,000 zloty (€13,929), but now “there is no room” in the budget. Why? All of the money is going to Ukraine.
Poland increased its defense budget to 3% of GDP in 2022, followed by a raise to 4% in 2023. Poland provides NATO with more funding as a percentage of GDP than any other European nation.
It will not be possible to double the tax-free income allowance to 60,000 zloty – which Donald Tusk had promised to do this year – until 2026 at the earliest, says the finance minister.
"There is no room" in the budget due to increased defence spending https://t.co/4K6gDKpTwY
— Notes from Poland ?? (@notesfrompoland) March 25, 2024
The reason that Poland is unable to say when or how they will decrease taxes is WAR. Finance Minister Andrzej Domański is promising the people that the government will fulfill its promises by 2026. “In my opinion, at the moment, there is no room for the tax-free amount to increase to PLN 60,000 next year,” he told Polsat News. “We are in a near-war situation. We have rapidly increasing defence spending …The scale of incoming defence spending is really high,” the prime minister said, highlighting how much the Polish government is currently spending on Ukraine.
Now, Donald Tusk is under pressure for only fulfilling 12 of the 100 policies he planned to implement after taking power. Tusk has been a strong supporter of Ukraine and Zelensky’s position. “They say it to President Zelenskyy’s face that they no longer have the strength, that they are exhausted,” Tusk said, criticizing US Congress for failing to provide additional blank checks to Ukraine.
Polish exports to Ukraine rose 25% in 2017. In 2022, Ukraine exported $6.7 billion in goods to Poland, primarily in agricultural products, while Poland provided Ukraine with $9.07 billion in mainly energy and ammunition. The war in Ukraine has only strengthened trade between the neighboring coutries.
Russia has no intention of invading Poland, despite the government’s fearmongering. Instead, the people are being forced to fund an endless war on behalf of their government. The fact that the government cannot determine when funds will be free for use shows that they are planning for a prolonged battle on Ukrainian soil.
