Open AccessTaxation of the Self‑employed in Poland and other EU Countries – a Comparative Analysis
Author(s) -
Anna Krajewska,
Piotr Krajewski
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
comparative economic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.244
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 2082-6737
pISSN - 1508-2008
DOI - 10.18778/1508-2008.24.12
Subject(s) - social security , incentive , tax revenue , revenue , eu countries , self employment , self employed , state (computer science) , economics , european union , economic policy , demographic economics , labour economics , business , international economics , public economics , market economy , accounting , finance , algorithm , entrepreneurship , computer science
The article aims to compare the taxation of the self‑employed in Poland and other EU countries. We show that, for years, Poland has been at the forefront of EU countries with the highest self‑employment rates. Our analysis indicates that many people in Poland chose the status of self‑employed, guided by tax optimization. Due to large differences in the burden of income tax and social security contributions of people working full‑time and choosing self‑employment, there are strong incentives to move from employment to fictitious self‑employment. Our study shows that this significantly affects the revenues of the state budget and social security fund in Poland.