People usually visit a tax advisor when they have a problem with the tax office. The situation is then very nervous, and there is little time to act because the deadlines are very short and you are poorly prepared for them. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

People are less eager to take advantage of ongoing cooperation with a tax advisor, but fortunately this attitude is changing. What would be the benefits of such cooperation? They differ depending on the company, because each one has different needs. However, there are some common elements.

One of our clients, operating in the rental of residential real-estate was forced to restructure his company at a very early stage and to sell the rights to buy apartments from the real-estate developer. Preliminary agreements were already signed, the apartments were ready to be transferred, but our client could not complete the transactions due to lack of funds. An analysis of Polish tax regulations indicated that the transactions should be taxed at the full VAT rate (22%), as it was not included in the list of services taxed at the reduced rate used in the housing industry (7%). This was also confirmed by the Director of the Tax Chamber in the first interpretation issued. Analysis of the Community regulations and their proper application allowed to obtain a tax interpretation that was favourable to our client, which allowed him to safely apply a reduced rate, and save a few hundred thousand zlotys.

A sales company operating throughout the country employs sales representatives who cover very large areas. The size of these areas meant that often they have to use hotels, not being able to return home for the night. As the whole time they were in the area indicated in the contracts as the place of their work, they were not on a business trip. The Minister of Finance, in the interpretation issued, took the view that the reimbursement of these accommodations should be considered as taxable income. A properly implemented appeal procedure allowed to obtain a favourable interpretation for our client. The client’s savings amounted to several thousand zlotys per year.

These are just two examples. Some of the wording used in them may sound unfamiliar, but we tried to use the simplest language possible. The point of these examples boils down to even simpler questions that you can ask yourself:

• Am I paying my taxes correctly?
• Maybe there are some savings that I could legally make, and I still don’t know about them?
• If so, in what areas?

The specialists from THOMAS TAX sp. z o.o. can help you find answers to these and other questions. Examples of services provided by us are included in the next tab.