The government wants to carve out plots of land for apartments from the resources of state-owned companies.

The government wants to increase the supply of land for residential construction by allocating land from state-owned companies, among other sources, Minister of Finance and Economy Andrzej Domański announced on Friday. He added that he will meet with the new head of MAP on this matter next week.

The head of the new ministry said in an interview for TVN24 that next week he will talk to the Minister of State Assets, Wojciech Balczun, about the possibility of state-owned companies launching the process of "separating their real estate" so as to increase the supply of land for housing construction.

He stressed that "this must be done in a legal environment that is safe for management boards and that they will not be accused of acting to the detriment of companies."

Domański emphasized that increasing the supply of land, simplifying investment procedures and reducing interest rates are factors necessary to stimulate housing construction in Poland.

When asked about the possible introduction of a cadastral tax, Domański replied that the Ministry of Finance is not currently working on such a tax.

" This would obviously be a revolution that would need to be very well prepared if it were to be introduced one day. (...) It seems that this is a solution that is simply not appropriate at this stage," he pointed out.

He explained that it would be a tax on the value of the property, so it would be necessary to carry out property valuations or "use more simplified mechanisms, which are often subject to error."

When asked about the so-called Belka tax (capital gains tax - PAP), the minister stated that it would be limited, but not completely abolished.

"As we said during the election campaign, the Belka tax will be limited. However, this limitation must serve a purpose. I am also responsible for the stability of the state's finances, (...) public finances. Therefore, with every change in taxes, I must (...) take this into account," Domański said on TVN24.

He added that the change in this tax will be aimed at investments and innovations.

As he explained, he is aware that – despite Poland being the 20th largest economy in the world – some of the engines of economic growth that have driven the economy over the past 35 years are slowly running out of steam.

"That's why we have to constantly look for these new tools, these new growth engines, and innovation is certainly one of them," said the head of the new Ministry of Finance and Economy.

He also noted that the level of use of advanced IT tools, including artificial intelligence, among Polish companies is very low. He emphasized the need to create tools and incentives to change this.

The day before, Domański announced on TVP Info that he would be introducing a solution that would exempt savings and investments of up to PLN 100,000 from the Belka tax. He announced that he would provide more details in the coming days. (PAP)

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