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212 WltHkimirtz Nykiel. V.»mo~H KJcUtki

As indicated abovc, The Aa on Inhcritanoe and Gift Ta* provides for many cscmptions reflccting the family siluation of a laxpaycr. Thcsc include cxcmptions of aajuisition of the following

1.    farms (subject to certain conditions) received by persona falling under Catcgory I;

2.    fumilure. clothing. tool*. picccs of art. library matcriaJs rtc. inherited by persons falling under Catcgory I i II, if the dcccascd was performing artistic, sacnlific or cducational activitics.

3.    individual smali enterprises or parts theroof, mherited by the deccawd's spousc or dcsccndants, providcd that the redpient will continue the business for at least S ycars from the datę of aerjuisition. If this condilion is not fulfillcd the ta* obligation ariscs as a result

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The proccss of imposition of ta*cs is in Poland centrulizcd. This tecans that ta*es arc lcvicd in Poland only by the State and the unit* of locaJ govcrnmcnt havc no right to imposc taxes. Thcir taxing power is limited only to the cxtcnd c&tablishcd by a statute, of somc clcmcnts of tax and local duty construction such as lcvcl of taxcs (rates) and exemptions and reliefs other than granted by a statute. Whilc granting other than statutory cxcmptions, local govcrnmcnt cannot introducc a generał cxcmplion. conccming all the taxpaycrs. Such an cxcmption wouid mean abolition of tax liability. Sclf-governing local communitics may only introducc cxcmptions conccrning the object of a tax. The above retnarks refer only to local communea us to basie unils of local go-vcrnment kccping in mind that in Poland thcsc arc only commuoes that havc own tax revcnucs. Other than communcs unita of local go-vernment - districts and provinccs (voivodship«) do not rcccivc any re-vcnucs from taxes, so the qucstion of thcir taxing power has no pra-ctical meaning.

Such a narrow scope of taxing power granted to a oommune is deter-mined by the Constitution in Art. 168. According to this provision, a cotn-munc is compacnt to set the level of local taxcs and charges to the cxtcnd establishod by a statute.

Within the cxercise of its power a commune cannot grant such reliefs and excmptions whkh wouid annihilate givcn tax. Morcovcr. the provisions of law introducing other than statutory reliefs and cxcmptions in local taxes and dutics cannot be addresscd to individual taxpaycrs, but to gencrally defined taxpaycrs. Thcsc princtplcs find confirmation in the casc law of the

Supremę Administrativc Court and of the Supreme Court (soc: judgment of Supremę Administrativc Court of 23“ July 1992. III SA 452/91. POP 1994, No. 4. s. 75; judgement of 4“ July 1995, SA/Łd 972/95, not published; judgment of Supremę Court dated on 21* September 1994. Ul ARN 44/94; judgment of the Supremę Administrativc Court of 29“ Dccembcr 1993. III SA 765/93, judgment of the Supremę Administxative Court of 4* July 1995, SA/Ld 972/95 and judgment of the Supremę Administrativc Court of 6“ Junc 1993, III SA 6X0/93, not published)

Thcrc are basically no conflicts betweeo the units of local governmcnt regarding tbe taxing power, as the compctcncc to modify the clcments of tax and dutics construction within tbe limit* set by a statute is granted widy to cooimunes, that is - to the units of local govcrrancnt of the same ford.

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The Constitutional Tribunal presents in its judgments a vicw, according to which tax legislation concerning taxcs payable in u tax ycar period must be ercated in accordancc with the principlc of non-rctroactivity of the tax law (sec: the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of 29® March 1994, 13/93). Acoording to the constitutional principlc of dcmocratic State of law, any amendmenis to the tax law* containing provisions which enter into forcc during a tax ycar but with retroactive cfTect as from the heginning of a tax ycar. violate the non-retroactivity principlc and the principlc of mcatio legis.

Tax legislation was challcngcd before the Constitutional Tribunal on the basis of its rctroactivity. In the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of 25“ of June 2002 (K 45/0i, not published) the Tnbunal confirmcd with rcfcrence to tax on goods and serviccs that the Conslitution protects the tx\paycrs vcstcd rights, as in the casc of cxistence of spccial reliefs granted to protcctcd lahor enterprises. The rules according to which the amount of tax refund to protectcd labor enterprises was calculatcd were changcd before the termination of 3 ycars period of binding of the decision under which the status of protcctcd labor enterprise was granted to the taspayers.

In another judgment of 27“ February 2002 (K 47/01) the amendment to Pcrsonal Incomc Tax Act and Law on Lump-sum-tax on Scvcral Kinds of lncome Rcccivcd by lndividuals was rcvicwed by the Constitutional Tribunal. as regards the introduction of a tasation of incomc in cash rcccivcd by a taapaycr before the 1* of Dccembcr 2001 on the basis of agreements condudcd before this datę in cases wherc such agreements were canccalcd for reasons established by law independent from taxpaycrs‘ action.