Exemption of Heritage Properties in Poland from Property Tax – The Fundamentals, Evolution of Solutions and Legal Framework

Abstract

Protection of historic properties is a public task which in Poland is performed by state bodies and local authorities. It consists in, inter alia, provision of legal, organisational and financial conditions which allow for long-term protection, restoration, utilisation and maintenance of heritage buildings. Provision of tax preferences towards historic properties is an important financial incentive for entities engaged in historic preservation and operating outside the public finance sector (in particular non-governmental organisations and natural persons). To determine the nature and scope of the tax preference, a systemic analysis of the Act on protection and maintenance of historical monuments and the Act on taxes and local fees is required. To ascertain the fundamentals and the scope of the regulatory law regarding heritage property tax exemption, as well as the way in which the legal regulations have developed, the tax legislation and judicial practice were analysed and the reference literature was reviewed with the application of the dogmatic-legal and empirical methods. The hypothesis on the conditional nature of the tax exemption was proven to be correct. Concurrently, it was shown that the fulfilment of statutory tax exemption conditions makes the taxpayer eligible for the tax incentive regardless of his/her legal status and involvement in other activities.