Investment incentives
Wielkopolska Region offers foreign companies a number of investment incentives:
POLISH INVESTMENT ZONE
It is almost 20 years since the establishment of Special Economic Zones, the Act of the 10th May 2018 amended the instruments of income tax exemption (CIT or PIT) in order to adjust the provisions to the current market situation and entrepreneur’s needs. The major difference introduced is that tax exemption is now available across the entire territory of Poland, for companies carrying out new investments, on publicly as well as privately owned land. At the same time, the currently binding Special Economic Zone (SEZ) permits, already granted to investors within the old SEZs shall remain in force until 2026. What is more, the amendment of 31 July 2019 also allowed support for investments in areas with undeveloped mineral deposits, thus significantly expanding the offer of locations, in which entrepreneurs can be granted tax exemption. On 1 January 2022, an amendment to the Act came into force, which was largely related to a change in the regional aid map.
More information about the Polish Investment Zone
There are five special economic zones in the Wielkopolska Region:
Kostrzyn - Słubice Special Economic Zone
Kostrzyn - Słubice Special Economic Zone is one of fourteen special economic zones in Poland. It was established by Ordinance of Ministers in September 1997 in order to support economic growth of north-western Poland, especially Lubuskie voivodeship. Since September 2018, by interaction area, were embraced all industrial terrains located in 40 districts of the voivodships: Lubuskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie.
The zones are administered by a governing company with a name identical to the name of the zone Kostrzyn-Slubice Special Economic Zone S.A. with headquarters in Kostrzyn nad Odrą. The shareholders of the company are: Treasury of State and Treasury of the City and County: Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Słubice, Gorzów Wlkp., Nowa Sól, Gubin and Bytom Odrzański.
More information: kssse.pl
Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone "INVEST-PARK"
The Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone "INVEST-PARK" was established in 1997 and covers the areas of 174 communes located in 3 voivodeships of southwestern Poland (Lower Silesian, Opole and Wielkopolska voivodeships). Thanks to investments from global giants such as Toyota, Mercedes, Volkswagen, 3M, Umicore and Capchem, not only the automotive and electromobility industries are developing in southwestern Poland, but also related industries such as metal processing, plastics processing and the chemical industry, as well as logistics services for these industries. Nearly 50% of companies operating in the WSEZ are representatives of micro, small and medium-sized businesses.
More information: www.invest-park.com.pl
Łódź Special Economic Zone
The Łódź Special Economic Zone was established in 1997 and covers the Łódź Voivodeship, part of the Masovian Voivodeship and the eastern part of the Wielkopolska Region. The zone is located at the intersection of two motorways A1 (north-south) and A2 (east-west). Two international airports located within its territory (Warsaw and Łódź) and an extensive cargo railway network, including the Poland-China railway connection (Łódź-Chengdu) provide the Łódź SEZ with enormous logistics potential. The strategic location, access to educated staff and tax incentives have made the Łódź SEZ one of the top zones in the world in recent years in the ranking prepared by FDI Magazine (part of the Financial Times group).
More information: sse.lodz.pl
Słupsk Special Economic Zone
The Słupsk Special Economic Zone (SSSE) was established in 1997. The area under the jurisdiction of the SSSE Manager covers Central Pomerania and one district in Greater Poland - within 97 communes. The total area of the area is 20,049 km2. The existing transport routes are national roads no. 6, 10, 11, 20, 21, 22 and 25 and a numerous network of provincial roads. National road No. 6 (Kołbaskowo-Trójmiasto), partly modernized and adapted to the standard of the S6 expressway, is an element of the international east-west European route E28 (Germany-Poland-Russia-Lithuania-Belarus). Railway lines no. 202 (Gdańsk - Starogard) and 405 (Pała - Ustka) run through the area. The nearest passenger airports are located in Gdańsk (Rębiechowo), Szczecin (Goleniów), Bydgoszcz (Szwederowo), Poznań (Ławica), and the seaports are: Gdańsk, Gdynia and Świnoujście.
More information: www.sse.slupsk.pl
Kamienna Góra Special Economic Zone for Small Entrepreneurship
The Kamienna Góra Special Economic Zone for Small Entrepreneurship (KSSEMP) was established in 1997 and operates in 63 communes, including 33 cities in the Dolnośląskie Voivodeship and Wielkopolska Region. This area covers approx. 800 thousand ha, which constitutes approximately 2.5% of the entire country's area and is inhabited by over 800,000 people. inhabitants. The KSSEMP area is the southwestern part of Poland near the border with the Federal Republic of Germany and the Czech Republic. The KSSEMP investment areas are located near important national and international communication routes: the S3 expressway, the A4 motorway and the A18 motorway.
More information: www.ssemp.pl
GOVERNMENTAL GRANTS
Governmental grants are provided on the basis of the Programme for supporting investments of major importance to the Polish economy for the years 2011-2030 (further as the Programme) adopted by the Council of Ministers on July 5, 2011 (amended on June 5, 2023).
More information about governmental grants
INDUSTRIAL AND TECHNOLOGY PARKS
Industrial and technology parks are places which, due to a concentrations of firms from one sector and supporting science and research facilities, are enabled to develop quickly. This is a pro-development model that is increasingly being implemented in our country. The facilities being offered, are applicable both to Polish and foreign businesses.
Industrial and technology parks located in Wielkopolska Region:
Poznan Science and Technology Park
Poznań Technology and Industrial Park
Business incubators:
Kaliski Inkubator Przedsiębiorczości
Inkubator Przedsiębiorczości w Lesznie
Turecki Inkubator Przedsiębiorczości
INVESTMENT INCENTIVES IN MUNICIPALITIES - REAL ESTATE TAX EXEMPTION
One of the basic investment incentives which are available for businesses in gminas (municipalities) is the exemption from local taxes and charges. Pursuant to the Act of 12 January 1991 on local taxes and charges (hereinafter referred to as A.l.t.), municipalities have the right to fix tax rates and establish the above-mentioned exemptions from taxes and charges foreseen therein. What is of fundamental importance for businesses is the exemption from real estate tax.
Items subject to real estate tax
The following are subject to real estate tax:
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land,
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buildings or parts thereof,
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buildings or parts of buildings associated with conducting an economic activity.
Real estate tax payers
Real estate tax payers are natural persons, legal persons, organizational entities, including companies without the status of a legal person, which are owners or autonomous possessors of real estate or civil structures, perpetual usufructuaries or owners of State-owned real estate or parts thereof or civil structures or parts of civil structures belonging to the State or a local authority, if ownership results from an agreement concluded with the owner, Agricultural Property Agency or under a different legal title, and also without a legal title.
The amount of the real estate tax is set by a resolution of the municipal council, however, annual rates cannot exceed the limits specified in the relevent act.
Exemption from real property tax
The municipal council (gmina council) may, by way of a resolution, establish exemption from real estate tax for businesses as one of the forms of state aid.
The aid provided in the form of exemption from real estate tax is equivalent to the value of the tax exemption. What is worth emphasizing is, that the tax aid granted under resolutions of a municipal council constitutes the so-called “automatic aid”, which means that an business is automatically entitled to exemption after fulfilling the conditions set out in the resolution of the municipal council. However, the intention to claim such aid must always be notified in accordance with in what is specified in the resolution of the relevant Municipal Council. All investment expenditure incurred before the exemption cannot be regarded as eligible costs.
Exemptions from local taxes and charges may be introduced, taking into account the conditions specified in:
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The Decree of the Council of Ministers adopted pursuant to Article 20d of the A.l.t. (the Decree of the Council of Ministers of 5 August 2008 on conditions for exemptions from the real estate tax and the tax on means of transport, constituting regional investment aid (Journal of Laws 2008, No. 146, item 927),
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The acts governing the award of de minimis aid,
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The acts governing the award of aid within the framework of group exemptions.
Most often, Municipal Councils (gmina councils) introduce exemptions under the Decree of the Council of Ministers laying down the national aid scheme and within the framework of de minimis aid.
The exemption from real estate tax under the Decree of the Council of Ministers.
The Decree of the Council of Ministers on the conditions for exemptions from real estate tax and the tax on means of transport, constituting regional investment aid, lays down framework conditions that a taxpayer must fulfil to benefit from regional investment aid in the form of exemption from real estate tax.
Aid calculation method
The amount of aid may be calculated in relation to:
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the costs of investment in fixed assets and tangible and legal assets which are connected with the completion of a new investment, or
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the costs of creating jobs associated with the completion of the new investment.
Conditions for the provision of aid:
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informing the relevant tax authority, before the investment begins, of the intention to claim aid. The resolution of the Municipal Council should specify the manner and form in which a notification should be made. Only the costs incurred after the submission of a notification can be included in the costs covered by the aid,
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an undertaking by the entrepreneur to cover at least 25 % of the costs qualifying for aid from his own funds or from external funding sources (other than public aid),
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maintaining the investment in a given region for a period of at least 5 years, and in the case of SMEs for at least 3 years from the date of its completion,
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in the case of aid calculated on the basis of the costs of creating new jobs, these jobs must be set up within 3 years of the completion of the investment, with the level of employment not lower that the average from the 12 months preceding the creation of the jobs, and the newly-created jobs must be retained for at least 5 years, and in the case of SMEs for at least 3 years from the date on which they were set up.
De minimis aid in the form of exemption from real estate tax
The municipal council (gmina council) may introduce, by way of a resolution on an aid programme, tax exemptions in line with the solutions based on the Community legislation on de minimis aid, which releases the aid from the notification obligation, yet the content of the resolution must be communicated to the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection.
The basic legal act governing the award of de minimis aid is the Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1998/2006 of 15 December 2006 on the application of Article 87 and 88 of the Treaty (Official Journal of the European Communities L.06.379.5), under which aid may also be granted in the road transport sector.
Pułapy pomocy de minimis
Rozporządzenie to ustala pułap pomocy de minimis w wysokości 200 tys. euro oraz 100 tys. euro w sektorze transportu drogowego, dla jednego podmiotu gospodarczego, przez trzy kolejne lata budżetowe. Pomoc tę oblicza się w ten sposób, że dodaje się pomoc uzyskaną w roku bieżącym i dwóch latach poprzedzających, a suma pomocy nie może przekroczyć 200 tys. euro (100 tys. euro w sektorze transportu drogowego).
Ceilings for de minimis aid
The Regulation sets the ceiling for de minimis aid granted to any one undertaking, which cannot exceed EUR 200 000 and EUR 100 000 in the road transport sector over a period of three successive fiscal years. This aid is calculated by adding other aid received during the fiscal year concerned and the two previous fiscal years.
The scope of application
Resolutions on exemptions under the de minimis aid regulations may, in principle, relate to all local taxes and charges and they may be adopted irrespective of resolutions providing for different types of aid (regional aid, aid under group exemptions). In such a situation, however, separate rules for the application of exemptions should be used to avoid their duplication.
The obligation to issue de minimis aid certificates
The Act on the procedure in matters relating to public aid introduces the obligation to issue certificates stating that the awarded public aid is de minimis aid.
IP BOX
Poland has already established itself as a popular destination for R&D centres of many global leaders in key high-tech industries. This is inter alia due to the availability of a young, skilled and well-educated workforce, low tax rates, recognized technological universities, cost competitiveness and R&D incentives. Poland offers various tax instruments for R&D sector such as: research and development (R&D) relief, relief for innovative employees, prototype relief, robotization relief, IP Box.
R&D tax incentive in CIT entitles taxpayers to make additional deduction of expenditure related to R&D activities from the tax base (up to 150%). Poland’s Innovation Box complements the existing tax preference system for innovative activities and introduces a preferential 5% tax rate of qualified income from qualifying intellectual property rights (instead of 19% tax rate); Polish intellectual property rights catalogue is one of the broadest worldwide and the reduced 5% tax rate is one of the lowest of all developed countries. The above forms of aid combined with the governmental programme of grant aid for R&D projects make the Polish RDI environment unique and extremely beneficial for investors.
More information about available tax incentives can be found in the Investors’ Tax Guide »
Source: PAIH