Abstract
For many years, Poland has been looking for a new taxation structure for income from agricultural activities in place of the agricultural tax which is still a basic burden for Polish farms. The study presents the results of the tax awareness analysis carried out in the selected group of farmers i.e. those involved in the cow’s milk production (32), so as to conclude, on this basis, on the assessment of tax fiscalism among this professional group. Tax burdens, both within the entire taxation system, as well as within new tax solutions, are perceived and expressed in a subjective way. The overall assessment of the tax system in terms of social expectations and reactions is dependent on, inter alia, the level of education of taxpayers, legal awareness, prevailing attitudes towards taxation. The results of the presented studies have shown a low level of tax awareness among farmers. The primary source of knowledge on taxes, including tax reliefs, are other farmers and information from tax authorities. The fiscal burden of taxes paid for the analysed group of farmers is not large. Few of them consider the following taxes as at least significant fiscal burden: agricultural tax (21.9%), real property tax (21.9%) or forestry tax (3.1%). According to the surveyed, the reasons for non-payment of taxes are mainly economic. The respondents consider the agricultural tax structure as appropriate. Most of the surveyed (56.3%) hold a negative attitude towards introducing the income tax on farmers and their agricultural activity. If it was to be introduced, it should be accompanied by tax reliefs, associated mainly with crisis situations, as well as investment allowances and reliefs dependent on the farm size. Despite modernisation or acquisition of new land incorporated into their farms, some farmers have not used an investment allowance. The reason for this state of affairs was, inter alia, the lack of knowledge on the suitable legislation. Farmers have a poor knowledge on the methods of paying tax liabilities and mostly do not use them. Almost all (93.8%) farmers know the possibility of recovering some funds spent on diesel fuel used for the agricultural production on a basis of invoices presented. Few (6.3%) believe that the current limit of excise tax refund is satisfactory. More than 31% of the surveyed use professional assistance (mainly accounting offices) as regards implementing obligations related to VAT settlement. The selection of the settlement method is conditioned economically.
Highlights
For many years, Poland has been looking for a new taxation structure for income from agricultural activities in place of the agricultural tax which is still a basic burden for Polish farms
The doctrine stipulates that any tax – including the agricultural tax – is a political problem of the authority, and the decision to distribute tax burdens is in the hands of the current political majority in the resolution-passing bodies of the state and local government (Gomułowicz and Małecki, 2006)
The most important tax reliefs accompanying the income tax introduced in the future (Fig. 2) should be tax reliefs granted in crisis situations, e.g. in the case of disasters or a fall in prices of agricultural crops
Summary
The issue of fiscalism is the subject of many theoretical analyses and empirical experience, it has not been given a uniform definition. Fiscalism is assessed on certain scales and the tax is considered excessive if, in order to pay it, the taxpayer must limit expenses on developing agricultural or non-agricultural activity, or when he is not longer interested in increasing income from that activity or from own labour (Pietrewicz, 1993). It should be stressed that the existing legal regulation, legal awareness, ethical assessment, the level of education of taxpayers should be taken into account when selecting the measures and objectives of tax policy, that addressed to agriculture. It seems that if taxpayers approve the level of burden, and the way the authorities redistribute taxes paid, the pressure of tax fiscalism will not be so clearly experienced. The results presented are part of the studies on assessing current tax solutions in agriculture and a proposal of their reform.
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