Deputy PM outlines plan to help Polish businesses

The plans presented by Morawiecki, who also serves as Finance and Development Minister, aim to simplify the way Poles open and run their own business, including self-employment.

The programme, dubbed “a Constitution for Business”, would allow small entrepreneurs to run a business without the need to register a company and pay social security contributions if their income is less than half the national minimum wage.

This would be particularly useful for people who provide part-time services like tuition and freelance design.

The current system is constructed in such a way that such people have to register a company and pay a standard social security contribution, which in some cases could exceed the income of the company.

The aim of Morawiecki’s plans is to minimise the unregistered, under-the-counter sector of the economy, where people receive undeclared cash payments.

Among the other points of the programme is an exemption of six months from paying social security contributions, as well as simplifying the legal system for cases involving businesses.

“We have developed a thorough reform of commercial law, in which we propose a positive breakthrough in the relationship between entrepreneurs and the administration. The motto of the package is ‘freedom’,” Morawiecki said, adding that the new system will replace a law on business freedom introduced in 2004. (rg/pk)