Constitution for business

On 09.06.2016 Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki presented the first entrepreneurship package. It envisions, among other things, less bothering tax inspections and protection against changing legal interpretations. The package of facilitations for entrepreneurs, in the form of concrete projects, should be discussed by the government after the summer holidays. As he added, the second package for entrepreneurs – in the form of a “Constitution for Business” – will be presented in autumn. As the Minister says, it is to be “a broadened version of the act on economic freedom”.

Morawiecki has also an idea for combating the grey market. He announced that the threshold for legal cash payments is being lowered. – If we propose solutions for small companies, and there are over 300 thousand that have annual turnover of up to 30 thousand, I think that we will be able to pull some of those out of the grey market – he explained. For sure, we will want to propose strong solutions which will additionally make an entrepreneur certain that he is acting within the law and does not need to worry about the processes that are still functioning today – he informed.

The Minister also commented on the Constitutional Tribunal dispute. According to him, it does not affect Poland’s investment climate, which is confirmed by the ranking published by Ernst & Young, according to which Poland is the most attractive place to invest.

The package is to solve the biggest problems of entrepreneurs.

The package for entrepreneurs, announced in the “Plan for Responsible Development”, answers the problems Polish companies face nowadays. Among these he included, among other things, never-ending proceedings in public offices, administrative penalties disproportionate to infringements, obligation to pay ZUS contributions in fixed amount by the smallest entrepreneurs, time-consuming retrieval of debt by the creditors, lack of legal solutions for innovative start-ups, and also regulations enabling uninhibited company operations after the owner’s death.

The head of the resort noted that in Poland there is one of the longest in the world period for keeping staff and salary documentation. It is 50 years. The Ministry of Development – as he emphasized – wants the employers to be able to fully make use of IT systems for keeping files and personnel documentation. Period for storing them is to be shortened from 50 to 7-10 years.

The so-called package for creditors

The Ministry is preparing solution proposals – the so-called package for creditors – aiming for easier retrieval of debt. As Morawiecki emphasized, commercial court proceedings in Poland are processed often for years, and when they end, court bailiffs retrieve less than 25 percent of the debts applied for. The Deputy Prime Minister announced preparation of relevant proposals, which – as he stressed out – “would in comprehensive way make debt recovery more efficient”. Details of the package for the creditor will be announced soon with the Ministry of Justice – he added.

Among other solutions the resort proposes introduction of, among other things, new general rules in the Code of Administrative Proceedings, guaranteeing, among other things, ruling on factual and legal incertitude in favour of the party and facilitations in succession of one-person companies. As the Deputy Prime Minister explained, this is about legal regulations assuring continuity of functioning of such an entity.

Creation of a new type of company

Moreover, the Head of the resort announced an idea to create a new type of company. It would combine the advantages of a limited liability company and a public company. This is about relatively simple and inexpensive set-up, functioning and liquidation and ease of share turnover and various possibilities of preferences – Simple Joint-Stock Company (P.S.A.) could constitute an initial phase of business development, in which the founders would develop their innovative idea and gain the needed financing, getting ready to enter the mature phase of development. Hence, the idea is that P.S.A. will be a legal structure adequate for, among other things, the first part of a start-up’s life – the resort convinces.

The goal behind creation of a new type of company – according to the Deputy Prime Minister – is foundation of a greater number of efficient Polish innovative companies. At the same time, they will be able to gain the capital needed for operations development easier than today.

The Head of the resort said that he wants the staff of public offices, public administration, to be as close to the problems of companies as possible, in the positive meaning of the word.

The Deputy Prime Minister added that a third of all administrative proceedings in Poland is directed for review. – We certainly want to simplify that. It will not always be possible, but even if a penalty will be necessary, we also want to set new rules, clear for everyone, and simpler mechanism in this respect – he said.