Senate Approves Personal Investment Accounts Without Amendments; Bill Heads to President

The Polish Senate passed the Personal Investment Accounts bill without amendments, sending the legislation to the president to eliminate the Belka tax on specific asset limits.

Senate Passes Bill Without Amendments

The Senate did not introduce any amendments to the Personal Investment Accounts bill on Wednesday, meaning the document will now go to the president. The regulations provide for an exemption from the so-called Belka tax on investment assets accumulated in Personal Investment Accounts up to 100,000 PLN and savings assets up to 25,000 PLN.

Sixty senators voted in favor of adopting the bill, 23 voted against, and two abstained. At the same time, the Senate rejected amendments proposed by Law and Justice senators that aimed to remove the tax exemption within Personal Investment Accounts for bank deposits.

Tax Exemptions and Implementation Timeline

The Personal Investment Accounts bill aims to implement one of the current government’s priorities, which is the development of the domestic capital market. According to the bill, these accounts are scheduled to enter into force on January 1, 2027.

Investment assets denominated in PLN, such as stocks and investment fund units, would be exempt from the Belka tax up to 100,000 PLN. Meanwhile, savings-type assets like bonds and deposits would be exempt up to 25,000 PLN.

New Value-Based Tax on Excess Assets

All assets accumulated in Personal Investment Accounts that exceed the limits would be subject to a new tax based on their value. The government argued that the tax will not exceed 1 percent and would be calculated according to a detailed algorithm taking into account daily valuations, the balance of deposits, and the duration of account ownership.

The government believes that implementing Personal Investment Accounts could channel approximately 25 billion PLN into the Warsaw Stock Exchange by 2030 and 74 billion PLN by 2040.

Overview of the Belka Tax

The capital gains tax, commonly known as the Belka tax, was introduced in Poland in 2002 by the then-Minister of Finance Marek Belka, from whose surname the popular name of the levy originates. It covers income from bonds, bank deposits, and profits from the sale of securities such as fund units or shares.

The tax rate is 19 percent, and the method of collection and settlement depends on the type of asset from which it is collected.