The "GLOBE" global minimum tax
Introduction of the global minimum tax (GLOBE) into the Polish tax system
Introduction of the global minimum tax, known as GLOBE (Global Anti-Base Erosion) is becoming the key challenge for international capital groups in 2025. The purpose of the draft act on compensation taxation of members of international and domestic groups, published on the website of the Polish Government Legislation Center on 25 April 2024 is to introduce the global minimum tax into the Polish tax system. The new regulations cover capital groups generating consolidated revenue exceeding EUR 750 million per year. According to the plan of the Ministry of Finance, the act is intended to become effective on 1 January 2025.
Directive of the Council (EU) 2022/2523 and its implications
The goal of the draft act of 25 April 2024 is to implement the regulations of Council Directive (EU) 2022/2523 of 15.12.2022 on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational enterprise groups and large-scale domestic groups into the Polish legislation. The directive is aimed at implementing Global principles on counteracting tax base erosion (GloBE principles) i.e., the so-called OECD Pillar II, in the European Union.
The OECD Pillar II is composed of:
- GloBE principles introducing the global minimum level of effective taxation on large-scale international enterprises (the so-called global minimum tax)
- the STTR (Subject to Tax Rule) mechanism that allows imposing an additional compensation tax by the source country.
Directive 2022/2523 and the draft act in order to implement the GloBE principles. The above-mentioned system introduces a global minimum tax according to which the largest international enterprises will be assessed on an annual basis for meeting the criteria of minimum effective taxation level of 15%. If it is determined that the effective level of taxation on income of a particular international group in a particular jurisdiction is below 15%, a relevant compensation tax will be imposed on the said group.
The mechanism of the global minimum tax
The global minimum tax introduces three key mechanisms for the collection of the compensation tax that ensure the minimum effective taxation level for the largest international enterprises:
- Global compensation tax (IIR – Income Inclusion Rule): It imposes the obligation of taxation on low-tax subsidiaries in other jurisdictions by the ultimate parent company in the group.
This mechanism will mainly refer to Polish ultimate parent companies (it may also apply to lower-tier parent companies, if their ultimate parent company is not covered by the IIR under local regulations) which shall be obligated to collect a compensation tax with regard to both local and foreign members of their group.
- Domestic compensation tax (QDMTT – Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax): It will be imposed in the country where the low-tax members of the group are located, regardless of the seat of the parent company.
In a situation when the ETR of the group in Poland is lower than 15%, the compensation tax will be deducted in Poland by local entities. The developed domestic compensation tax will be supposed to meet the conditions needed to be considered as the qualified domestic compensation tax (QDMTT). As a result, the foreign ultimate parent company will not be obligated to apply the IIR with regard to Poland;
- Tax on undertaxed payments (UTPR – Undertaxed Payments Rule): It will impose the obligation on the entities in a particular country, provided that the parent company operates in another jurisdiction where the IIR mechanism does not apply.
If the IIR and QDMTT mechanisms do not ensure an effective 15% taxation in every jurisdiction that a particular international group conducts operations in, the compensation tax will be collected by subsidiaries from a particular group proportionately to the share of their employees and assets compared to the employment and assets of other entities covered by the UTPR.
Interpretation tool vs. global minimum tax rules
The Ministry of Finance has highlighted that due to the complex nature of the global minimum tax rules, the draft act introduces a new interpretation tool – the opinion on compensation tax.
The opinion on compensation tax shall constitute a document issued by the Director of the National Fiscal Information upon the request of the interested party and the said document will grant them protection analogous to the one ensured by the individual tax law interpretation.
The entity submitting a petition for an opinion will be obligated to pay an initial fee of PLN 25 000 and a principal fee the amount of which will depend on the scope and complexity of the issue in the petition, not higher, however, than PLN 75 000.
Challenges for capital and accounting groups.
The regulations of the draft act may significantly influence the Polish entities from capital groups with consolidated revenue exceeding EUR 750 million per year.
The global minimum tax will become particularly important for Polish companies from international groups operating in jurisdictions where the IIR mechanism does not apply or where the effective tax rate is lower than 15%. Introduction of the said tax will force the companies to thoroughly adjust their accounting and bookkeeping systems to the new legislative requirements. The companies which utilize various tax reliefs, such as special economic zones or reliefs for research and development, will have to scrupulously analyze the impact that the global minimum tax will have on their operations. The essential role of the global minimum tax is to ensure that the income of international groups is subject to taxation of at least 15% in every jurisdiction they operate in.
Proper preparations for the changes in scope of accounting and taxes will be necessary in order to ensure compliance with the new regulations and minimize the risk of tax inconsistencies. Thus, it will be necessary to adjust the accounting record systems to the challenges posed by the new act. The Polish act, when implementing the model OECD, will include a set of adjustments to the accounting result in order to determine the effective tax rate and the eventual compensation tax. Many of the adjustments have not been available in the Polish legal system; it will force changes in the accounting to collect data necessary for the calculation of the tax base.
The minimum global tax also introduces new requirements regarding financial reporting for international capital groups. Companies will need to prepare for providing detailed information on their operations in various jurisdictions in order to meet the requirements concerning the calculation of the effective tax rate. It may involve additional resources and investments in reporting systems as well as cooperating with tax advisors.
Perspectives
The implementation of the global minimum tax is to counteract tax base erosion and profit transfer (BEPS) practices as well as to ensure a fair and efficient taxation system for the income of international capital groups.
The introduction of GloBE principles is supposed to create a “level playing field”. If all the jurisdictions that introduce the said system apply an effective rate of 15%, the tax attractiveness of a particular jurisdiction will no longer be a crucial factor the placement of the investment.
The global minimum tax constitutes a significant change in the international tax system in order to ensure that the largest capital groups will be taxed at the minimum rate of 15% in every jurisdiction they operate in. The implementation of the said regulations in Poland will pose numerous challenges for the companies, accountants and accounting systems.
Author: Sylwia Kulczycka, Manager at the accounting office in Warsaw.
