Poland 2050 announced plans to introduce legislation forcing parliamentarians and ministers to disclose assets concealed within family foundations, adding the information to annual declarations.
Poland 2050 Announces Draft Legislation
The chairwoman of Poland 2050, and Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, announced on platform X that work is beginning on a Poland 2050 bill. The legislation will compel parliamentarians and “clever ministers” to reveal assets hidden in family foundations, adding this information to their mandatory annual asset declarations.
“Tax cuts for the state do not suit anyone, and especially not parliamentarians and ministers. That is why we are starting work on the law,” she commented.
Report on Family Foundations Sparks Action
The minister referred to a report broadcast on Monday in TVN 24’s “Czarno na białym” program. The episode, “Rodzinny raj” (Family Paradise), examined family foundations—a legal structure introduced at the end of the United Right government (with the support of all factions except The Left and Razem).
The law was intended to help family businesses transfer enterprises to the next generation.
Tax Disparities Highlighted
Simplifying, if I – as an ordinary taxpayer – am burdened with over 31 percent in various levies, including social, pension, and retirement insurance, and taxes, a family foundation pays only 15 percent tax, if the money is paid out to beneficiaries. Until it is paid out, it can be disposed of and reinvested. The average taxpayer does not have this possibility,” said the journalist from TVN24’s “Czarno na białym.”
Pełczyńska-Nałęcz Targets Mentzen
“It’s shocking how politicians who constantly quarrel can agree, across political divisions, to use the tax haven they created for themselves,” she wrote, adding that she would begin collecting signatures for the project starting with “well-known clever people on foundations: Mentzen and Wipler.”
Politicians and Public Figures Utilizing Foundations
The TVN 24 journalist emphasized that family foundations are used by members of both the opposition and the ruling camp, as well as other public figures. These include the Mentzen Family Foundation, the RW Family Foundation (registered by Przemysław Wipler), the KP76 Family Foundation of Daniel Obajtek, the “Vinci” Family Foundation of Ryszard Petru, and “Lucida Futura” of Radosław Piesiewicz, head of the Polish Olympic Committee.
Mentzen Responds to Accusations
Sławomir Mentzen responded to the minister’s accusations, stating that he has voluntarily disclosed the assets of his family foundation from the beginning. “The law does not obligate me to do so, but in the interest of transparency in public life, I have included this information. I consider this an oversight by the legislature. The lack of such an obligation means that anyone required to disclose assets can easily hide them in their Family Foundation,” he wrote in a statement.
“Calling me a ‘clever person’ in this context is idiocy or bad faith. Typical of P2050,” he commented.