Polish court to ask EU's top court about bank tax on foreign bonds

Poland's Supreme Administrative Court has decided to refer a case concerning the bank tax to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The core of the dispute lies in whether Polish banks can reduce their taxable base by the value of bonds issued by other EU member states. This question arises as a bank, currently under a recovery plan that exempts it from the bank tax, seeks clarity on its future tax obligations.

Once the recovery plan concludes, the bank will again be subject to the bank tax. Before this happens, the institution wants to determine if it can lower its taxable income by including the value of bonds from countries like Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Austria. The bank's request for an individual interpretation initiated the legal proceedings that have now reached the Supreme Administrative Court.

The court's referral to the ECJ signifies a potential shift in how the bank tax is applied across the European Union. The ECJ's ruling will be crucial in determining if national regulations that do not allow such deductions are in line with EU regulations, potentially setting a precedent for other financial institutions within the bloc.