Polish PM reports on delivery of gov't pledges

“We want all Poles to enjoy the fruits of the economic growth,” Morawiecki was quoted by Poland’s PAP news agency as saying, 300 days after he announced the swathe of promises.

He added that “credibility is the basis of politics,” and that he wanted to meet people in five cities across Poland to report on how the government has delivered on its pledges.

In April last year, Morawiecki announced a plan to cut corporate income tax (CIT) for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 15 to 9 percent, which experts said would be the lowest rate in the European Union.

According to PAP, as of January 1, 2019, over 450,000 Polish entrepreneurs were benefitting from the lower tax rate.

In addition to cutting taxes, the government promised to lower social insurance contributions for small businesses.

On Monday, Morawiecki was quoted by PAP as saying that the contributions had been lowered for 130,000 entrepreneurs as of January 1.

He also said his government would inject PLN 6 billion (EUR 1.38 bn), instead of the PLN 5 billion promised earlier into efforts to renovate and build local roads.

Morawiecki added that his government was helping finance the purchase of school supplies for children -- by offering parents a handout of PLN 300 for every child under the age of 18 before the start of each school year.

In another measure, the government has also launched a PLN 23 billion (EUR 5.5 bn, USD 6.8 bn) plan, dubbed Accessibility Plus, to improve the living conditions of senior citizens, Morawiecki said.

He first announced the slew of new measures as Poland’s ruling conservatives met in Warsaw in April 2018 to sum up their first two years in power and outline their priorities for the years ahead.

The ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party came to power after winning parliamentary elections in the autumn of 2015. Morawiecki took over as prime minister in December 2017.

(tf/pk)