Jan Sarnowski co-hosting ”Distributed Profit Taxation – Polish and Worldwide Perspective” conference at SGH

Jan Sarnowski, Head of the Tax Department at B2R Law and Managing Director of the Centre for Fiscal Studies at the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), will co-host the International Scientific Conference “Distributed Profit Taxation – Polish and Worldwide Perspective”. The theme of the conference is a summary of four years of operation of the “Estonian CIT” in Poland.

Why is it important to talk about the “Estonian CIT”?

Distributed profit tax (DPT) is a modern form of corporate income tax (CIT) that was first introduced in Estonia in 2000. Instead of collecting tax monthly, quarterly or annually, companies are taxed when they distribute profits to their shareholders. In countries that have replaced the traditional CIT with the DPT (e.g. Estonia, Latvia and Georgia), the change in tax rules has led to an acceleration in the GDP growth rate, a sharp increase in the investment rate and a significant reduction in the time companies spend paying their taxes.

From 2021, about 10% of Polish companies will be able to settle their accounts according to “Estonian” rules. The DPT is currently used by almost 20,000 companies. In 2023, similar settlement rules will also apply to Polish family foundations, which will greatly increase their popularity.

What is in store for Conference participants?

The keynote speaker at the conference will be Daniel Bunn – President of the Tax Foundation – an American think tank known for its annual publication of the International Tax Competitiveness Index. In this year’s edition (2024), Poland ranked 31st out of 38 OECD countries. One of the recommendations aimed at remedying the dangerous state of the Polish tax system is the full introduction of the DPT, as was the case in Estonia. During the conference, experts from the Tax Foundation will present the estimated impact of this reform on the Polish economy. The results of the analysis will be discussed by a panel of international experts, including Helen Pahapill (Deputy Minister of Finance of Estonia), as well as representatives of tax advisory and business associations, including the Business Centre Club and the Lewiatan Confederation.

The event will take place on Monday, 9 December 2024 in SGH (aula I, bud. C, Al. Niepodległości 128, Warszawa), both stationary and via MS Teams.

Link for registration