MIL AXIS Translation. Region: Polish/Europe –
Fuente: Gobierno de Polonia en poleco.
Comunicado lun24/09/2024The Council of Ministers adopted a draft act amending certain acts in order to support entrepreneurs employing Territorial Defense soldiers or Active Reserve soldiers, submitted by the Minister of National Defense.
The draft law introduces tax preferences for entrepreneurs who employ soldiers of the Territorial Defense and Active Reserve. Business owners who apply for a public contract – for the implementation of which they employ the above-mentioned military – will also be able to take advantage of preferential conditions. The idea is to increase the attractiveness of territorial military service, increase the number of soldiers in the Polish Armed Forces and reduce the burden on employers. Soldiers of the Territorial Defense (OT) and Active Reserve (AR) who are called to perform military service cannot perform duties under the employment relationship. A sudden call may affect the rhythm of the company’s work and constitute a burden for the employer. Preferences for entrepreneurs may encourage the employment of OT and AR soldiers. Key solutions An entrepreneur who employs Territorial Defense or Active Reserve soldiers may take advantage of a tax relief. The tax relief applies to every employed OT or AR soldier. Its amount depends on the number and period of employment of soldiers. If a soldier has been in continuous service for 1 year, the employer may deduct PLN 12,000 from the tax base. The amount of the relief increases with each year of continuous service by the soldier. The maximum relief is PLN 24,000 if the length of service is 5 years.
The possibility of deducting the tax relief will be valid until 2026.
An entrepreneur who applies for a public procurement contract and will employ OT and/or AR soldiers for its implementation will be able to benefit from preferential treatment. This applies to public procurement contracts below the EU threshold (below PLN 25,680,260 in the case of construction works and PLN 663,105 in the case of supplies and services). The employment of OT and AR soldiers will be treated as a “quality criterion” that will apply in organizational units subordinate to and supervised by the Minister of National Defense. The value of this criterion will not be lower than 10%.
The current severance pay paid to an employee who was called up for territorial military service will be replaced by an initial benefit. The initial benefit will be paid by the military unit. This will relieve employers who will not have to pay the severance pay and then apply for its refund. The benefit will be due after the soldier completes basic training. It will amount to 50% of the average salary in the second quarter of the previous year. In the second quarter of 2023, the average salary was PLN 7,005.76, so the benefit will amount to PLN 3,502.88. It will be exempt from personal income tax.
The new regulations are to enter into force after 14 days from the date of publication in the Journal of Laws.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.