The count of births decreases year by year. The birth rate in 2013 was the lowest in decades. The state supports children with families in many different ways. It annually earmarks about PLN 50 billion for that purpose. The help for families is dispersed, though, and does not translate into the reversal of unfavourable demographic trends. The income tax, as a family policy tool, was discussed by officials and families’ representatives in the seat of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. The meeting was attended among others by the Minister of Labour and Social Policy Minister of Finance, President of NIK and Chair of the Large Families Association ”Three Plus”.
”The income tax seems to be one of the key tools of support which the state may use to help families with children” - underlined NIK President Krzysztof Kwiatkowski. He pointed out that from among the family policy measures in Poland the child tax allowance, joint taxation of spouses and taxation of single parents should be used as much as possible to set up conditions supporting the setting up and consolidation of families. He also recalled that the family policy is one of key priorities in NIK audits in 2014.
The conference participants got familiar with tax solutions used in other countries - France and Hungary. Representatives of the French and Hungarian ministries of finance also took part in the meeting. The directions of changes recommended and proposed in Poland were presented by the experts team of the President of Poland and specialists of the Large Families Association ”Three Plus”.
NIK President remarked that NIK wants to participate in the public debate on the condition of Polish families. Through its audits NIK will verify to what extent measures taken by the state and its bodies help liquidate tax barriers, and other issues which prevent people from having and bringing up children.
