Law / Shoppoland.com is a rip off [6]


Make a complaint at UOKIK .( Consummer protection in Poland) Just type UOKIK Poland on the internet.
They are excellent and have several branches in Poland but can also be reached from abroad by email contact and phone.

Language / Can anyone help with spelling of Grandmother [53]


Americans pronunce BOB like BAB as if there was an A instead of an O .

Real Estate / Advice on best interior fit-out company in Krakow: mamdom or JoshuaMills? [32]


Well I am still hoping I can get more feed back from members who might have used one or the other ,before I decide who to use, the more references you have the better. But I am not in a hurry , will go to Krakow mid August to get quotes and meet a few .

( i mean I would love to meet a few because as Michael points out Joshua Mills is the only one in Krakow we know of).

Food / COFFEE BRANDS IN POLAND & ELSEWHERE? [17]


Great with pleasure! Where is your business located in Krakow?
Is it like a café or a sort of Local Starbucks?

Real Estate / United States Tax Laws for sale of property inherited in Poland [10]


I heard that ING offers term accounts in Euros in Poland but will Poland really join the euro zone one day and when, isn't it better in PLN?

Real Estate / United States Tax Laws for sale of property inherited in Poland [10]


This is not the question whether the heirs are descendants of survivors from the death camps or not, they are entitled to this money it is theirs just as if your grandfather had owned a place in Italy or in Mexico and you inherited it.

If you need the money yourself why give it to the poor and needy?
In my opinion Datetree can inherit legally, sell his ancestors place, pay his succession taxes in Poland to the Notary , exchange it against US Dollars if he wishes and get in touch with the IRS in the US to check if he has anything extra to pay which I doubt.

Real Estate / United States Tax Laws for sale of property inherited in Poland [10]


Given it is an inheritance in direct line ( grandmother,mother, son), you should not pay much in terms of Succession/inheritance taxes no matter the value.

The best is to ask the IRS in the US about the rate of succession taxes in direct line because there are millions of Americans who buy property abroad and millions who inherit properties abroad from their relatives.

Travel / Clean, safe, comfortable hotels to stay in Warsaw? [12]


The best is to use booking.com ( you can select the most popular hotels in Warsaw )or another internet reservation site for hotels and then check the former clients comments and evaluation of the hotels on trip advisor.

News / Post Office Strike. Polish News. [14]


They want a monthly pay increase of 140€.
The strike continues with members of a Trade Union Solidarnosc who are actually beeing sued by the Polish Post Office because apparently their strike is illegal .

Not sure strikes are permitted among civil servants in the Polish Constitution since 1989 but teachers, doctors and judges also went on strike in th past 2 years.

Life / Free internet zone in Krakow [8]


You could find a café outside , it is not a problem when it is warm in spring and Summer but in Winter you really need to be inside because it is freezing and often snowing.

Real Estate / Legal question about Real Estate and Protocol zdawczo Odbiorczy, help [3]


Well we have already payed more than 85 % of the apartment . Plus the developer will owe us money ( or deduct it from what we still owe) for his equipment we don't want because we prefer to buy our own.

It was just a way of getting started in the renovation work because we are so tired of waiting but it is better to know if it is common or not in Poland to do so.

Thank you anyway for the info about the risk of damage or our new installations prior to hand off.
That's right , better to be cautious.

Travel / Do Poles speak English? [19]


Polish and German are not considered dialects but are languages although they do come from Indo European linguistic group of languages.( latin alphabet, )
They share some similarities in grammatical structures and sometimes in vocabulary but they sound even more different than the Shanghai dialect would sound to someone speaking Mandarin .

Cantonese and Mandarin would be like German and Polish.

If you speak English, no problem in big cities( no warrantee in the country side and with old people like everywhere else) in Poland and among the youth.

The Polish speak English but the English seldom speak Polish!

In Europe the English are lucky because everybody speaks their language, for them it is something obvious. ( English is definitely easier than Polish too!)

Law / Be careful where you buy building materials in Poland! [12]


I think that it is actually quite good to name companies we feel are not delivering proper service and those that we thorougly recommend so that other consumers at least know about others 'experience;We of course know that it is always a matter of subjectivity but still it is great to share good and bad opinions about companies.

There must be a national organization in Poland such as 50 Millions of Consumers and I think that you should complain about this Parkiet company to them.

Real Estate / Real estate agency in Poland (that does not target foreigners) [14]


Here is a real estate Website ( data Base)that does not target foreigners but has a translation in English ( click the little British flag).

The sites which don't target foreigners definitely show definitely more reasonnably priced properties and are for everyone.

dominium.pl

Study / Polish Language School Scams? Clarity Required! [28]

There must be a national organization defending workers's rights against any form of abuse or non pyment of ZUS like a Work Inspection institution or something like that because it is mandatory in Europe.

Real Estate / Advice regarding inheritance of Polish property. [4]


In 2007 2 members talked about inheritance taxes in Poland and appartently there is no inheritance tax if the beneficiary is not Polish.
Polanglik male
Nov 8, 07, 17:27 #1

I know that in UK inheritance tax is a burden that is now affecting most of the 'middle classes', and not the very rich for which it was originally intended. Although in many cases the 'very rich' have lawyers/accountants who can advise them how to avoid this tax !

Here in UK i believe there is a tax threshold of approx £250 000, after which the government takes 40% of the remainder. This inheritance tax is not paid by surviving spouse, but by children or other beneficiaries.

On my last visit to Poland I was told that that the inheritance laws are more beneficial in Poland to beneficiaries than they are in UK; as long as the will is disclosed within 3-6 months then very close relatives of the deceased pay little or no inheritance tax.

Has anyone got any concrete information on this matter ?

PM Member
Posts: 404
Joined: May 16, 07

Quote | Reply
witek7205 male
Nov 8, 07, 20:37 #2

Yes.
There is no inheritance tax in Poland if beneficiaries are close family members (spouse, children, parents, siblings) and inheritance is on territory of Poland or is executed in Poland

and beneficiaries are residents of EU.
This also applies to inheritance abroad if beneficiaries are Polish citizens or permanent residents.
If you are resident or citizen of another country , law of that country also applies to you.

Real Estate / Cost to build a house from scratch in Poland? Any companies that do it? [14]


You may look at this site and buy designs for 158-185zl for designs of houses , to start with.
dobry-dom.pl
The I suggest from experience that you only use a builder and an architect who has been thoroughly recommended to you.

Real Estate / Be careful when buying apartments with BUD MAR Investment in Krakow [23]


The problem renovating an old flat is that the buiding is often falling apart and you spend endless years redoing the staircase, the walls of the building etc

Often there is no lift and you have to see the old and dirty walls inside the building .

Law / Tax Rate in Poland [6]

I heard that in Europe Poland is the cheapest place in terms of Business taxes .
Less than in the uK or Ireland but I don't know either where to find the official info.
what is cost of Labour in Poland?*if you employ legally someone how much do you pay in various taxes?
What are the taxes on benefits for small businesses?
Thanks a lot

Work / Moving to Poland with my work - which town should I choose? [25]


Krakow of course ! It has everything you can dream of in terms of life quality, architecture, restaurants, job opportunities, open minded and multi lingual highly educated inhabitants and it has many connections to all the major spots in Poland + international links to loads of countries by Air, railway etc.

I think that Warsaw is great too but sad enough the city was 90 % destroyed during the 2nd War so it is not visually beautiful like Krakow.

I heard that Wroclaw is very nice too and smaller.

Real Estate / Furniture For Rent for a short period in Poland? [4]

Great ! this is amazing , I am wondering how much it cost for a bed , a sofa-bad , a table and 4 chairs .
in anycase thanks Lukasz for this excellent thread.

Life / Why is Poland so slow; it takes a lot of time to arrange anything here [53]


What is the internet company you used in Poland?
Thanks,

Travel / Hotel in krakow for a romantic weekend? [7]

The WENTZL Hotel in Krakow is the only hotel right on the magnificent medieval rynek ( market place)and very romantic.you can check the customers evaluations of the hotels on the site of" trip advisor" krakow.

The hotel is fantastic and not very expensive. It is only rated as a 3 stars because there is no lift.( I do not know why they don't put one in) But the café and restaurant Wentzl are wonderful and owned by the wife of a famous writer in Poland.

Real Estate / Be careful when buying apartments with BUD MAR Investment in Krakow [23]

Dear Rafal,
You may contact me directly on my email adress: Lwowskakrakow@hotmail.
I will give you the address , emails and phone numbers of a real estate lawfirm in Krakow.
You really need a lawyer with Bud Mar Investment .
They are so unprofessional .

Avoid bad developers like Bud Mar Investment..

It is crucial if you wish to buy a property in Krakow or anywhere in Poland to avoid the horrific experience we as buyers are going through with a Developer BUD MAR INVESTMENT who has cheated us and used our funds to finance themselves instead of building our properties.

Now there is a LABEL of CERTIFICATION ( like a Quality certification) issued by a Polish independant organization like in most countries enabling people to feel and be safer in their purchase in Poland.Of course gangsters like BUD MAR INVESTMENT would never get it!


This is a public notice to inform potential property buyers in Poland and specially in Krakow.
------

no need to duplicate the same information
Admin //

Work / feedback wanted on teaching job offer [33]

The answer is that the British School in Warsaw like most International Schools in the world ( American schools are even more expensive) charge a real fortune to parents.

The pupils are generally expats'children and the tuition is paid by companies who have transferred the expats abroad.( the tuition is a minimum of 20000£ per year!)

Of course they also want the best teachers and they will treat them very decently!