Poles did not become poorer during the pandemic, according to the latest tax return data from the Ministry of Finance for the years 2018 to 2021.
Additionally, the number of taxpayers with annual incomes over 1 million zloty (€215,000) has increased, while the number declaring earnings below 20,000 zloty (€4,250) has decreased.
The data indicates that the number of the poorest taxpayers is falling, and the pandemic did not ultimately affect incomes despite the business turbulence. The number of such taxpayers decreased from almost 8.5 million in 2018 to about 5.3 million in 2021.
The positive economic trends are also confirmed by the decreasing number of declarations showing annual incomes not exceeding 40,000 zloty (€8,500).
Moreover, there is a larger group of wealthy entrepreneurs, Poles reporting annual income in much higher ranges. Lastly, there was a small increase in individuals taking home more than 1 million zloty (€215,000). It was also confirmed that the majority of millionaires use the 19 percent flat-rate personal income tax (PIT), as “the higher the income, the greater the willingness to choose the 19% linear PIT rate.”
