Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called on banks to accept higher corporate taxes in order to drastically increase the country’s defence budget.
He argued that lenders are in a better position than households to shoulder the financial burden, as he justified raising the corporate tax rate on banks from 19% to 30%.
“That’s the brutal truth. It’s better to tax banks than Polish families, especially since banks are in very good financial shape. It will be a greater burden [for banks], but who should be burdened if not those who have the most money? This isn’t populism, just a rather obvious conclusion,” the Polish leader said.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poland has significantly boosted its defence budget, which is set to reach 5% of GDP next year.
According to government estimates, the higher tax rate would generate an additional €1.52 billion. Tusk also announced that the levy will gradually be reduced, falling to 26% in 2027 and 23% in 2028.
