Poland's "Grey" Economy Still Thriving
Published:
22 June 2000 y., Thursday
For every Zl100 worth of goods produced by lawful, tax-paying companies in Poland, another Zl15 worth is produced for the "grey" economy to avoid taxes, the Central Statistical Office (GUS) said.
GUS said in a recent study that most illicit activity takes place in officially registered companies which lower their tax burden by paying dues on only part of their output.
The report stressed such activity would have increased GDP by 15.3 percent in nominal terms in 1998, down from a high of 17.2 percent in 1994 - the first year that GUS tried to estimate the extent of tax evasion.
Poland's economy has blossomed since communism collapsed in 1989 with much of the initial entrepreneurial drive created by street vendors and other small businesses, which often took advantage of inefficient communist-era tax regulations. Over the past years successive cabinets have worked to limit the "grey" economy by introducing value added taxes.
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
A specific EU budget line for the new EU stabilisation mechanism should be created as soon as possible, to ensure its credibility, Council, Commission and Parliament negotiators agreed at a three-way meeting on Wednesday.
more »
New EU rule will help phone-users avoid astronomical bills for web-surfing and downloads abroad.
more »
The Communication approved today by the Commission builds on the principles presented on 12 May to reinforce the economic governance in the European Union.
more »
Eurostat report just published shows that the crisis has brought some lower taxes.
more »
New legislation is needed to ensure fair returns to farmers and transparent prices to consumers, by enforcing fair competition throughout the food supply chain, said Agriculture Committee MEPs on Monday.
more »
Fish imports play a crucial role in supplying the European market, yet fisheries and aquaculture are strategic sectors that do not lend themselves to a purely free-trade approach, believes the EP Fisheries Committee.
more »
I will support every proposal that strengthens cooperation among the European Union's Member States and serves Lithuania's interests," President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė said at the meeting with EU Member States' ambassadors resident in Lithuania.
more »
The fourth World Lithuanian Economic Forum “High tech innovation & investment: local to global” will start in London on 22 June.
more »
Lithuania aims for the five Nordic countries and three Baltic States to become single community of values, which would be linked by a versatile quality of democracy, security and everyday life.
more »
MEPs decided on Wednesday to create a special committee to prepare for the EU's next long-term budgetary framework.
more »