Irena Talarczyk-Stępnik
Nieodpłatne świadczenia na rzecz pracowników – problem klasyfikacji. Uwagi na tle wyroku trybunału konstytucyjnego w sprawie K 7/13
Summary
The article concerns the issue of taxation of free employee benefits. The essence of the problem is the difficulty with correct identification of such benefits. However, the recognition of consideration for providing free benefits is essential both from the point of view of the employee - in this case charged with the tax - and the employer, who is liable for payment. These difficulties are a result of vague provisions of the Personal Income Tax Act on personal income tax, including the lack of a legal definition of the notion itself, which is difficult to formulate because of the wide and constantly expanding catalogue of free benefits. The article discusses the verdict of the Constitutional Tribunal in the case K 7/13, which constitutes an attempt to methodize the issue of free employee benefits, including indicating the characteristics which such a free benefit should meet in order to be considered an income pursuing the Art. 12 section 1 and Art. 11 section 1 of the Personal Income Tax Act. Recognizing the verdict as a turning point, the author notes that following the announcement hereof, some tax authorities issuing individual interpretations have still had difficulties with determining what constitutes a free employee benefit. The source of these problems lies in unreasonable disregard of the authorities towards to the Tribunal's verdict, or taking into account only some of the conclusions hereof. Although the issue of employee benefits is not an easy one, the verdict of the Constitutional Tribunal, should it be taken into account, would, according to the author, minimize doubts concerning the matter.
References
- Mariański, A. Nowak-Piechota, Konstytucyjność opodatkowania pozapłacowych świadczeń pracowniczych, Przegląd Podatkowy, nr. 11, 2014.
- Podatek dochodowy od osób fizycznych. Komentarz, Marciniuk (red.), Warszawa 2016.
- Styczyński R. , Glosa do wyroku WSA z dnia 23 kwietnia 2014 r., I SA/Bk 29/14, LEX/el., 2015.
Key words: gratuitous service for employees, payment of the benefit, other gratuitous service