The pace and scale of changes in national legislation in recent years prompt lawyers, tax advisors, and above all taxpayers themselves to ask the above question.
Our firm has been serving clients for over 10 years in the area of effective and safe planning of tax consequences of their investments and business projects. During this time, the tax environment has changed radically not only in Poland but also worldwide. The legal solutions we proposed to our clients in 2008 and those we can propose now are diametrically different, illustrating how rapidly the legal environment around us is changing and how important it is to continuously adapt your business plan to these new circumstances.
In this relatively short period, significant changes have occurred in national regulations, being the effect of a broader trend among OECD countries and the European Union, aimed at counteracting tax base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS – Base Erosion and Profit Shifting).
Key changes affecting tax planning:
- CFC rules (Controlled Foreign Companies) – obligation to tax income of foreign subsidiaries in certain conditions.
- MDR (Mandatory Disclosure Rules) – obligation to report tax schemes to the Head of the National Revenue Administration.
- CRS (Common Reporting Standard) – automatic exchange of financial information between countries.
- Anti-avoidance clause – tax authority can disregard a transaction that was done primarily for tax reasons.
- Transfer pricing regulations – tightened rules for transactions between related entities.
- UBO registers – transparent registers of beneficial owners.
Is tax planning still possible?
Yes, but it requires a fundamentally different approach than 10 years ago. Modern tax planning must be:
- Substance-based – structures must have genuine business purpose and real operations.
- Compliant – full compliance with all reporting obligations (MDR, CRS, CFC, transfer pricing).
- Transparent – readiness for full disclosure to tax authorities.
- Proportional – tax savings must be proportional to the business risk and operational complexity.
The era of aggressive tax optimization using shell companies and artificial structures is definitively over. What remains is intelligent, compliant international business structuring that delivers genuine operational benefits alongside legitimate tax efficiency.
Paweł Osiński
Attorney, expert in international tax planning and corporate structures