06/2016 Planned changes in excise duty on cars PWC Info

The Senate debates thorough reconstruction of the system of excise duty on passenger cars.

On 17 May, the Senate Infrastructure Committee, Legislative Committee and Budget and Public Finance Committee held a joint meeting. The subject of the meeting was the bill on amending the excise duty Act which provides for reducing the rates of excise duty for cars with engine capacity exceeding 2,000 cm3 from 18.6% to 4.6% of the tax base (Senate printed document No 107). During the meeting, the Senate legislative office presented the regulatory impact assessment, according to which the introduction of the proposed regulation would increase the registration of cars with increased engine capacity by 30%, but would at the same time reduce the budget revenues from excise duty by PLN 350 million (the regulatory impact on other taxes was not specified).
During the next joint meeting of the Senate Infrastructure Committee, Legislative Committee and Budget and Public Finance Committee, which was held on 14 June 2016, the author of the bill, Senator Grzegorz Peczkis, presented calculations of the budgetary impact of the changes and suggested a self-amendment to the previously proposed excise duty on cars with engine capacity exceeding 2,000 cm3 from 4.6% to 8%. According to the Senator, after the amendment to the bill, the effects of implementation of that regulation could at least be neutral for the state budget, and could hypothetically increase tax revenues even by PLN 50 million. Representatives of the Ministry of Finance noted that the system of excise duty on cars required thorough reconstruction instead of adjustments to the rate.
Currently, the discussion is moving in the direction of a proposal to create a new system of taxation of passenger cars replacing the excise duty dependent on engine capacity. The Committees adjourned the meeting until 22 June, 15:00 hours – then the decision will be made whether the bill will be acted on.