Who benefited and who (if anyone) lost? An assessment of the reform of municipal revenues from personal income tax shares in Poland

Kto zyskał, a kto stracił? Bilans reformy dochodów gmin z tytułu udziału w PIT w Polsce

This article presents a preliminary assessment of the distributional effects of the 2025 reform of personal income tax (PIT) revenue allocation in Poland, introduced by the Act of 1 October 2024. Using historical data from 2018– 2022, a simulation compares PIT revenues under the new and previous systems across four municipal types: rural, urban-rural, urban, and cities with county rights (CCRs). The results show that the reform strengthens the link between PIT revenues and local economic potential. While all municipalities gain nominally, benefits are uneven. Higher gains are associated with higher average wages, greater use of tax deductions, more non-agricultural employment, and a larger number of businesses. CCRs are most sensitive to income levels; rural municipalities the least. The study contributes to fiscal decentralization literature and offers insights for policymakers designing equitable intergovernmental fiscal systems.

W artykule dokonano wstępnej oceny tego, które jednostki samorządu terytorialnego (JST) zyskują, a które tracą na nowym systemie alokacji dochodów z podatku dochodowego od osób fizycznych (PIT), wprowadzonym mocą ustawy z 1 pażdziernika 2024 r. o dochodach JST, oraz zidentyfikowano czynniki, które o tym przesądzają w różnych typach gmin (wiejskich, miejsko-wiejskich, miejskich oraz miastach na prawach powiatu – MNPP). Wyniki badania pokazują, że reforma zwiększa powiązanie dochodów gmin z ich potencjałem gospodarczym. Choć wszystkie JST nominalnie zyskują, to poziom korzyści różni się istotnie. Wyższe dochody uzyskują gminy z większym udziałem podatników korzystających z ulg, wyższymi wynagrodzeniami, większym zatrudnieniem poza rolnictwem i większą liczbą firm. Najbardziej wrażliwe na zróżnicowanie poziomu przeciętnych wynagrodzeń okazały się dochody z PIT w MNPP, zaś najmniej wrażliwe – w gminach wiejskich.

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