The basis for the development of any business is its resources. And the most important resources of any company are its employees and innovative products and services. At the beginning of 2022, the ways of calculating salaries in Poland changed, which directly affected both the salaries of employees and the situation of employers. Proposed reliefs for the middle class, theoretically compensating for lower net salaries, unfortunately did not cover all highly qualified specialists especially in the field of R & D.

The situation has become a challenge, because in the absence of any compensation or pay rises for employees affected by net salary reductions, there is a risk that they will look for new employment, often outside not only the Krakow Metropolis, but also the country. For developing innovative companies, the acquisition and retention of the necessary and highly qualified R&D specialists has always been a top priority, hence the creation of a system of incentives has become an extremely important issue.
Entrepreneurs have been provided with new, attractive tools which give them the opportunity to attract highly qualified employees and to create better and better conditions for those they already employ. What is more, the introduced system of incentives also enables companies to create innovative workplaces through robotisation of processes or expansion abroad.

A solution, especially for innovative companies and their employees, is a comprehensive system of tax reliefs operating in Poland from 1 January 2022, which ultimately is to encourage entrepreneurs not only to innovate and create intellectual property, but above all to register it in our country.

In the Krakow Metropolitan Area, entrepreneurs benefit from already introduced facilities such as IP Box in CIT and PIT in 2019, PSI  and on top of that they now get the opportunity to combine many new reliefs under the new system.

What discounts are available in the Krakow Metropolitan Area and what does the entrepreneur gain by benefiting from those reliefs?

Relief for research and development (R & D)
One of the reliefs with the widest scope as it refers to research and development works of an entrepreneur which may concern its goods, services as well as internal processes of a given enterprise. If a taxpayer decides to take advantage of this pro-innovation mechanism, introduced 5 years ago, they can count on :

• the most important, from the point of view of innovative companies, deduction of specialists' personnel costs
• opportunity to offer better pay conditions to highly qualified employees
• reduction of taxable income and consequently lower PIT or CIT to pay
• settlement of eligible expenditure irrespective of the outcome of the research and development work carried out
• possibility to deduct the costs of research and development projects started in previous years, with 2022 being the last year when it is possible to correct the 2016 return
• the possibility to claim the research and development allowance in the next six tax years.

IP BOX relief

Also known as the Innovation Box or Patent Box, the relief consists of preferential taxation of income from intellectual property that is protected by law.

- 5% of the tax base at the preferential tax rate for PIT / CIT

- can be used simultaneously with R & D and prototype relief

 Prototype relief

Relief for the trial production and marketing of a new product, supporting the entrepreneur in the costs at the stage of testing the product before mass production and marketing it:

• expenditure incurred in the creation of a prototype included in tax deductible costs
• possibility to deduct additional 30% of expenses from the tax base (not more than 10% of income)
  
  

Relief for robotisation
A new solution for entrepreneurs who want to automate their production processes by introducing a robot into the company, regardless of the size of the company or the type of industry.

• possibility for the entrepreneur to deduct up to 50% of eligible costs from the tax base
• inclusion of leasing and training for robotic personnel

IPO relief

It is a relief for the so-called initial public offering, making it easier for Polish Start-ups to find strategic investors on the stock exchange.

•  inclusion in the issuer's tax bill of 150% of the expenses directly related to going public
• 50% deduction of expenditure on advisory, legal and financial services directly related to the issue (up to a maximum of 50 000 PLN excluding VAT)

Relief for expansion

Relief to support the company's development in its search for new markets, both abroad and at home, subject to the condition that sales of the goods in question increase by 30% within two years.

• an additional allowance for the costs that the company must incur to expand its markets
• Expenses for the expansion of the company settled twice during the year, once as tax deductible costs, the second time under the relief up to the amount of PLN 1 million.

Polish Investment Zone (PSI)

It has completely changed the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) that have been in operation for over 20 years giving entrepreneurs tax exemptions only in special economic zones. From 5 September 2019, tax exemptions are available throughout the country. Thus, entrepreneurs and investors wishing to obtain tax exemptions under the PSI after meeting the relevant quantitative and qualitative criteria can:

• carry out a new investment anywhere in Poland
• obtain a CIT/PIT tax exemption for a period of 10, 12 or 15 years depending on the investment outlay incurred and the aid intensity foreseen for the respective voivodship.