The concept of fairness as a criterion for the assessment of the personal income tax in Poland

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of the article is to present the essence of tax justice in relation to the personal income tax in Poland. Research method – The realisation of the aim required using the method of descriptive and compa-rative analysis to assess the fairness of charging the personal income tax.Results – The results of the empirical study on the personal tax structure point to the progressive tax as the one which better fulfils the concept of tax justice. The common acceptance of the tax progression confirms the deeply rooted sense of vertical equity in the Polish society. According to this, higher taxes should be paid by the rich, while the less wealthy should be charged with lower taxes. Unfortunately, the structure of the personal income tax in Poland does not reflect this. On the basis of the evolution of the PIT tax structure, it is possible to determine flattening of the progression due to the introduction of the two-stage tax scale. What is more, one may experience frequent ethical doubts connected with tax exemptions, and especially with the rules of granting them.Originality / value / implications / recommendations – Author’s own evaluation of the personal income tax in terms of tax fairness.