Please correct me if I'm wrong: if I open a CD (lokata) in a Polish bank at 5%, at the maturity date I will collect my interest earnings minus the capital gains tax (podatek) of 18%, which in effect lowers the rate to under 4%?
Is everyone subjected to this tax, even if unemployed? And why is the bank in the business of collecting taxes? Doesn't the Polish IRS (urzad skarbowy) trust its citizens to pay their dues at the end of the fiscal year ? ;-)
it's so called "podatek belki" it was itroduced only a couple of years ago...
There is one flat tax rate (19%) on capital income. It includes: selling stocks, bonds, mutual funds shares and also interests from bank deposits.
It is simple if you have a bank deposit of some sort and receive interests, you have capital gains and you must pay the tax.
a bank is a so called "płatnik" (just like an employer that pays the downpayments on the income tax for the emploees)...
urząd skarbowy receives each month the money diractly from the banks... I'd say it's more convenient this way and probably it also serves to reduce the moral hazard... :)
Can anyone give me some advice on Polish Banks? I'm trying to find out what kind of interest rates are available and are funds guaranteed i.e. if the bank goes bust will the goverment refund the savings??
Polish Banking
Hi all, could someone explain how polish banks work?? Can i open a savings account? what kind of interest can my savings make? How much "dirt" tax or capital interest will i have to pay on any profit i make? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated
Basically, they work in the same way as do foreign banks. About 80% of the banking sector in Poland has been owned by foreign companies since 1990, this resulting in modern procedures having been implemented into a once old-fashion sector.
1. Most of the banks (except Polbank maybe) are under polish guarantor called BFG, which means your savings are 100% protected up to 50000 EUR in case of default, more than that there are different rules.
2. Yes there is plentiful of savings accounts to choose. Here you have some ranking, unforunately in polish, but there are some clear tables for deposits:
e-lokaty.pl
and for save accounts:
konto.lokat.pl
There is 19% tax on interests, but there are products like "lokata jednodniowa" thanks to wich you don't pay this tax as long as a daily interest is less than 50gr, so with 4% interest you can make about 24000 zł deposit. But there is no problem in some banks to have a few deposits. I know it is a bit tricky but it is common and as far as I know it is legal.
As for banks, in my experience internet banks are the best, both cheap and usually with better products. The biggest internet bank is probably mbank (they belong to BRE bank), but because they are big, their offer recently started to look weak. I must say that recently I've started to like Toyota bank offer and Getin bank but I have no experience with them yet.
PS. besides banks there are para-banks named SKOKs, they have their own rules and different guaranties.
PS2. One word of warning: in polish "lokata" means deposit. But there are many products called "lokata strukturyzowana" which in fact is not deposit and is usually not guaranted. What is more it is usually financial product which is a combination of a deposit and some risky investment.
I thought that Podatek Belki (tax on interest) was 20%. I have various lokatas (deposits) at various banks. Some are good, some not so..Best ones are the ones you can get on the highest rate.
Everybody pays tax on their interest in the bank, but it would be unfair if there were exceptions for tall, blond haired girls (i.e. anyone under 60) - 5%, for anyone over 60 - 15%, for unemployed 0%, for the rest 25% - there is one rate and everybody pays.
If you don't like the banks, keep your savings under the floorboards and p.s. never get involved with anything that smacks of 'gielda'.
A similar capital gains tax is levied on savers in the US. And, likewise, it is the banks who withhold the tax and remit it to IRS i.e. Federal Government.
Us Banks mail Form 1099-INT and it needs to be reported by the recipient as a taxable income at the time of doing taxes. The same amount is reported to the IRS but not paid to the IRS by the bank. It is the tax payer's job not to 'forget' about the earned interest.
It is the tax payer's job not to 'forget' about the earned interest.
...yeah...and if they had that in Poland, everyone, but everyone would declare their interest on their tax form and pay.....dream on. What about foreign nationals like me who have money on deposit - I don't have a Polish tax form to complete. So you're going to tell me now that I need to declare interest on my savings to my taxman - year, right.
Tax on interest has been in existence for a good number of years - live with it.
I live with it - no problem here. As I said, you have to declare it because everybody knows that the bank sent the same info to IRS. If you forget, the IRS will remind you with a stiff penalty to boot - so you never forget again! :)
