Abstract:

As well as imposing new encumbrances on banks, the regulations introduced in years 2015-2019 significantly altered tax burdens, contributions, and capital requirements of banks. A significant increase in taxes, charges and contributions was not without impact on the lending activities, development and profitability of the banking sector. The present article investigates selected aspects of external fiscal burdens imposed on Poland’s banking sector compared to banking sectors in other EU economies. The analysis focuses on contributions due to deposit guarantees, banking tax, CIT tax, capital endowments and capital profitability. The research suggests that due to the negative impact of the latest financial crisis, the scope and magnitude of financial contributions imposed on the entities of the banking sector have increased. The imposed contributions have an adverse effect on the profitability of Poland’s banking sector, which is corroborated by the deteriorating values of the ROE indicator. Poland has one of the lowest values of the ROE measure among the EU states. The profitability of the banking sector is further challenged by the persistent low interest rates, which adversely affect banks’ earnings.