PolishForums LIVE  /  Archives [3]    
   
Posts by Ryszard  

Joined: 7 Aug 2007 / Male ♂
Last Post: 4 Jun 2010
Threads: -
Posts: Total: 89 / In This Archive: 3
From: Gliwice, PL
Speaks Polish?: yes

Displayed posts: 3
sort: Oldest first   Latest first
Ryszard   
15 Aug 2007
Law / Tax in Poland? [57]

Before I begin, some vocabulary:
netto - net income
brutto - gross income... or at least it should be. But it's not, because in fact your employer is forced (by the law) to pay part of employee insurances from his pocket. But from employer point of view it really doesn't matter what employee is doing with his money (or is being forced what to do with them) all he knows is how much this employee cost him.

So brutto as term of polish wage in fact means only some mystical amount of money written on the contract. Don't ask me why is that. It could have sense, if all the insurances were payed automatically by the employee - then the brutto would mean the amount of money being base for income taxation. But it's not the case - there are still another insurances money deducted from your brutto payment before they are finally taxed.

Enough talk, time for example:

Let's say you've signed contract for 6000PLZ/mth (72000PLZ/year) brutto.
As I said before, in fact this is "so called gross income" because your employer will pay you c.a 7236PLZ/mth (86839PLZ/year)

So, let's look at the year balance:

You've earned (your employer payed you) 86839

ZUS (social insurance) - 26474

NFZ (health insurance) - 5121

FP/FGŚP (work insurance) - 1836

INCOME TAX withholdings - 7920

- you've been payed 45487

That's not all. At the end of the year we still have to do tax paperwork... and if we are not entitled to any tax reliefs (there are some, but don't count too much for them) then we have

Total incomings: 45487+7920(inc tax witholdings)=53407
Total tax = (look at slawekk post) 6504+4907=11411
You have to additionaly pay 11141-7920=3491 (yup, this is about your 1 monthly salary, so better be prepared....)

Your final year net income is 42266.
Let me remaind you - you've earned 86839. But you've got only 48,6% of this sum, so you've been 51.4% taxed.
And this is still the begining, because when you live, when you buy whatever you're still paying another taxes (like 22% VAT). Welcome in Poland.
Ryszard   
10 Apr 2009
Language / Polite forms in Polish vs English [49]

Second - In polish language we use polite questions too: "could you give me that?"

Not only it can be, in fact it is. Talking directly and "impolite" is an privilege and sign of intimacy - at many differrent levels. Even more, sudden comeback to very polite level can be found offensive or even declaration of cold war. It's hard to explain, I think it's like with japanese men bowing - they always know precisely what deepness and angle is correct, but for foreigners it's unsolvable riddle :)

Anyway, if your polish BF/GF starts talk to you more and more directly, don't be afraid as it's (most probably) good sign of your developing relationship :)
Ryszard   
15 Jun 2011
Language / Polish and other West Slavonic languages and "pozor vlak" :) [48]

you think you understand certain words (written the same)...but they mean something different.
Polish also has such examples. Maybe somebody could enlighten me :)

Yes, I think Polish-Czech examples are most legendary, like

divka (cz) - girl
dziwka (pl) - whore

laska (cz) - love
laska (pl) - (slang) hot babe... or blowjob

maj (pl) - may
kwiecień (pl) - april
kveten (cz) - may

...and probably many others which I can't remember now :)