Today’s news round-up in Poland
Start your day with a summary of today’s top stories from Poland’s leading news sites.
TVN24.pl – There has been an increase in the number of arrest warrants issued for people who have committed misdemeanours, the broadcaster TVN24 reported. Under a change to the Penal Code that came into effect at the start of the year, warrants and wanted notices can be issued for people who have, for example, failed to pay a fine for riding on public transport without a ticket or for drinking alcohol in a public place. A spokesperson for the Malopolska Police said that people generally come forward and pay the fine once they know they are the subject of a warrant and a wanted notice.
TVPInfo.pl – Police in the southern town of Tarnow arrested three people on charges of profiteering from prostitution, the state-owned broadcaster TVP Info reported on Friday. The three made PLN 600,000 (EUR 130,000) from running escort agencies from a number of rented apartments in the town. According to the police, "several dozen" women worked as prostitutes for the gang.
Rp.pl – Employers and employees are finding alternatives to paying corporate and personal income taxes, the newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported, in an effort to avoid an increased financial burden imposed upon them by the Polish Deal, a flagship government programme that introduced sweeping changes to the tax system. Revenue from the 19-percent corporate tax, for example, fell, year on year, in 2022 by 16 percent but lump-sum payments increased by over 200 percent. The paper added that local governments lose from the changing tax habits because a percentage of corporate and personal income taxes go to them which is not the case for one-off payments.
Wyborcza.pl – The pharmaceutical company Pfizer appears unmoved by a letter from Adam Niedzielski, the health minister, which called for Covid vaccines contracts to be changed owing to falling demand, the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza wrote. Pfizer maintains, the paper wrote, that contract negotiations were conducted in good faith, and that it intended to meet its obligations.
