DOING BUSINESS IN POLAND
June 2010

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POLAND, MARKET PROFILE

Economic outlook
Despite a limited growth in 2009, Poland remains the only economy in Europe that experiences a positive growth, with an increase of its GDP of 1.8%.
The dynamism of the Polish economy relies not only on its capital city, Warsaw, but also on secondary cities such as Krakow or Wroclaw. These cities develop rapidly and have a high level of economic growth combined with a low level of unemployment.

Labour market
Polish workforce is known in Central Europe for its high level of technical skills, as well as for its level of education. Several research & development centers have recently been developed by large international companies, such as IBM and Google in the computer/internet sector, or GlaxoSmithKline in the pharmaceutical sector. Poland offers highly skilled labour at wages that are still far behind the western European average.

Real Estate market
The property market in Poland is very well developed and offers qualitative products in both Warsaw, and in secondary markets such as Krakow or Wroclaw. The market has benefited from strong local and international investments over the past 5 to 6 years.

The largest market in Central Europe
Poland is the largest country in Central Europe in terms of population with 38 million inhabitants, but is also the only one that has achieved a strong and sustainable growth over the past years.  This economic strength has improved its attractivity and brought several large scale investors such as Citi Group, Cap Gemini, Alstom, Microsoft, and many others.

STARTING BUSINESS IN POLAND

Setting up a legal entity
Foreigners (persons but also legal entities) can set up a business in Poland. The setting up process is rather quick and easy, and takes roughly as much time as in Czech Republic – approximately 2 weeks.
The most common form of legal entity is the “Sp. z.o.o.”, the Polish equivalent to an LLC (limited liability company), and requires a minimum capital of 5,000 PLN (approximately 1,250 EUR).

Corporate income tax
The corporate income tax level in Poland is of 19%.

Value added tax (VAT)
The basic Polish VAT rate is of 22%.