Law / HELP - Polish Tax Issue! "Ryczałt"? [3]

Hi everyone....Hopefully a good starting point but I've been in Poland since last September and having some tax issues as a result of poor tax advice here. Long story short, prior to my wife and I moving to Poland she owned a commercial property in PL and recd. under 3k PLN in rent. At the time it was easier to be setup for her via. "Ryczałt" which meant 8.5% tax monthly period. We met with the tax person when we moved in Sept. and she did our PIT for 2011 (I'm registered as a PL employee, she doesn't work). Come last month my tax withholding switched to 32% from 17% (+/- 1% I forgot the exact numbers). I didn't really know what was going on and the accounting firm which does our taxes mentioned the jump in my tax bracket. 85k PLN or so is taxed at the lower rate and above and beyond is taxed higher. No problem because my wife doesn't work so this amount is double.

Problem is that the accountant tells us that my wife will be unable to file with me for 2012 because de facto she is classified as being under "Ryczałt" because she didn't change her filing status in January. Unfortunately, for us this is a significant amount of money - enough so that I'd be willing to give away my wife's share of the property because currently the rent is in arrears.

Any tips/advice would be highly appreciated. Essentially, the question is whether there is anyway to change her filing option for 2012 to standard so that we can file together.

Work / Advice Needed - Buy or Rent Car for a Month before I start my new job? [7]

We're shipping our cars from the USA > Gdynia August 11 and fly into WAW on August 8. I'm assuming our container will be all set first full week of Sept. (6th through 9th) - its being delivered to our new home in PL.

I'm debating if we should buy a cheap car around 2000-4000PLN to use for the month and then resell OR if we should rent a car. Lowest I've found so far is 80PLN all-inclusive from LeCar (includes vat, insurance, etc.) I realize buying a used car in Poland is quite an endeavor especially buying it online even if I have someone on the ground can test drive - still I don't want to end up with a bad clutch or tranny which will require money to fix if we decide to visit the seaside for a week. At the same time I have no idea what registration and applicable taxes would run for a car I'd want to drive for a couple months and then resell. I also feel as though dropping 2400 PLN for a month long rental is also a waste but really would like a car before I begin my new job. Any help much appreciated. Cheers,

Life / Help with US appliances in Poland - Power converters? [3]

Hi everyone...does anyone have experience with these step down transformers/converters? We have some smaller appliances likely about 300-700 Watts (Kitchenaid Blender, stand mixer, etc.) along with a 1000W blu-ray home theater system (yes I am aware of the Pal/NTSC implications).

I'm thinking of going with a 3000 Watt setup to be on the safe side and possibly be able to use 2 or more appliances at the same time but the ones on Allegro say they are 230V/110V adapters while the ones I'm considering on the amazon.us site are 110/220 ( amazon.com/Power-Bright-VC3000W-Voltage-Transformer/dp/B000 MY02LQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307978233&sr=8-1 ).

Any help would be highly appreciated. Thx in advance

USA, Canada / Shipping personal possessions from US to Poland [11]

Just curious if anyone has had experience shipping personal possessions from the US to Poland. We're in CT (approx 80 miles from the port Newark/Elizabeth, NJ) and I'd like to make this as easy of a move as possible. Not getting reimbursed for relo so I'm on a budget. I don't mind getting everything in a UHaul and getting it over there. Anyone have experience with this? FYI - I'm doing this via "mienie" so vat, customs, etc. are not an issue. Cheers,

USA, Canada / To move back to Poland from the USA or not to move back....that is the question [119]

Hi everyone, I've been reading various posts on the forum for months, it's nice to see such a useful resource online. I'm sure there are tons of similar posts so I'll add another.

I moved to the US with my parents when I was less than a year old in the 80s. As a child I would visit Poland during the summers. I came to visit Poland several years ago and met my current wife there - we are both now US citizens. Although I thought of moving back, it was really just daydreaming. Anyways I'm almost finished with my juris doctor (law school) and the prospects of a job in the US are decent considering I have a great resume and a business background in MIS. However, the thought of living the "American-dream" for the next 50 years is horrendous to say the least.

On the contrary, I would love to live in Poland, my wife owns a gorgeous flat right in Warsaw, I am lucky enough to speak Polish pretty well, and we are both young. The thing that scares me the most is the idea of tossing my entire educational and professional background out the window to work at a McDonalds or a Supermarket (hopefully kidding). Obviously I realize the European legal system is totally different and wouldn't mind switching fields, however would want at least a decent job where I could be happy to go to work. Of course I realize the cost of living and average income are much lower but you can't put a price on happiness as you can all imagine.

Ideas?