Poland Tax inspection?

Hi all!,

My wife recently received information that she will have a tax inspection for the few years she ran a company in Poland (2010-2011). The wife is worried that they will find something amiss, namely a few small translation projects we didn't declare.

So fair enough, we will pay any tax owed but is there a fine associated with this also? My wife said the fine could be as high as 5000pln which doesn't quite sound right to me as the amount of unpaid tax would be in the few hundreds at most.

I don't live in Poland any longer and work full time in Saudi but the missus still does, I have all of my hard earned money transferred to my Polish account. It is my sole individual account but is it possible that the tax authorities in Poland could block or take the amount from my account if the wife doesn't speedily cough up whatever is owed? It would be really problematic for me if I can't withdraw cash whilst I am in the mid-east and I have never had the foresight to set up a proper Saudi account. I am assuming I will get some kind of notice that this is about to happen or maybe even a demand for payment first? rather than the authorities just dipping into my bank account?

What are people's thoughts on this? What kind of fine is my wife in for (assuming they find something) and will it affect my account?

They almost always find something, however during an inspection they will be checking that the accounts that were submitted match the paperwork that is on file. Fines are not too large. The authorities are unlikely to touch your bank account unless it is connected to your wife's business or it is a joint account. They are unlikely to look to closely at bank accounts unless there are serious tax debts.

BTW, setting up an account in Saudi is very easy provided you have an Iqama. If you're there on a business visa, it is impossible.

Hi Jon357,

Yeah I have an Iqama, managed to do all the important things like get the net and mobile phone with it just never bothered to open an account as I get paid in cash and the rest transferred to my UK and Polish accounts.

Thanks for your answer, what do you mean by checking the accounts that were submitted match the paperwork that is on file? I'm quite lousy in my understanding of the Polish tax system :-)

So it looks like some kind of financial outlay, that's no problem, if the money is owed, it's owed. When you say the fines are not too large, what are we talking here? 5,000 or less?

The reason I asked about my account was that I had some understanding that in Poland your partner's liabilities are your liabilities too and if they can block or with hold money from her account surely it's the same for my accounts also?

Thanks again :-)

Basically, your wife would have had to submit a tax declaration. If they're making an inspection of her business they would want to see that the figures match with the invoices/bills (whether issued or received).


Yes, less than that, unless the amount of any proven misdeclaration are very large. What was the legal basis of the business - a limited company or self-employed?


That's something they'd only do if they couldnt get any money they wanted from your wife, it isnt a routine thing - and remember, there may not be anything to collect, especially if they have no evidence of cash-in-hand stuff. It also depends on the legal basis of the business, as above.

BTW, which part of KSA were you in? I did a stint in KSA a few years ago but now go to Iraq every month instead.,

Her business was something like a sole-trader in the UK, but thanks for the info!

I spend my time between Jubail and Riyadh, with business trips averaging once a month to other nearby countries (inclusive of Iraq) to do consultancy work. I like it here all in all.

What part of Iraq do you travel to?

That should be OK. The biggest fines tend to go to limited companies and they would only bother with getting a spouse's account details if there was a problem recovering any underpayment or penalty. Usually the penalties for sole traders are small and in any case cash in hand work would only be an issue if there was proof it had happened, like some sort of audit trail that had appeared as a result of an inspection elsewhere or expenses were charged for it (and attributable to it) at your wife's end.

They do look quite hard for any errors, but are mostly looking for run-of-the-mill underdeclarations or anomalies like a sole trader claiming 10 kilos of coffee per week for their office rather than investigating the possibility of cash-in-hand work. Very much about checking that the paperwork is credible.

I was in Jubail and liked it (though so many don't seem to). I lived up in the Royal Comission district near Fanateer but used to spend my free time in the town itself. In Iraq, way out in the desert a couple of hours from Basra - here right now and 44c. Me too - all in all, I like it ;-)