Fiscal begins to check 50 per cent copyright costs in IT industry
After the problems with the low lump sum for self-employed IT specialists, it looks like there will be further disputes in the IT industry. It turns out that companies, which employ IT specialists on employment contracts and apply 50 per cent, author's deductible costs, may also be in trouble. The tax authorities are beginning to carry out checks in IT companies to verify the right to relief - writes the Prawo.pl portal.
Following the 2022 tax changes, companies in many industries, including IT, have started to look for new ways to retain professionals. For those on employment contracts (as well as contracts for work and commissions), companies have started to apply 50 per cent deductible costs to a much greater extent than before, in order to be able to pay higher salaries to employees. The higher the costs, the lower the employee pays in tax. However, this change has caught the attention of the tax authorities. The tax authorities are starting to carry out checks on IT companies to verify entitlement to the relief.
Adam Allen, tax adviser and partner at Thedy & Partners, points out that checking operations are often a routine activity for the tax authorities.
– Verification activities are often conducted in cases where the tax authorities notice significant changes in taxpayers’ accounts. This may be the case, for example, when a particular company, in accounting for employees, reports a lower tax due to 50 per cent lower costs than in previous years, while the number of employees has not changed. However, a screening exercise does not have to turn into an audit if the taxpayer provides documentation to the Revenue to prove entitlement to the preference, says Adam Allen.
However, Adam Allen also wonders what impact the recent NSA ruling of 22 February 2023 (ref. II FSK 1890/20) may have on the actions of tax authorities. In it, the NSA confirmed that a gaming company may apply 50 per cent costs to the entire remuneration of an employee engaged solely in creative work, i.e. without having to separate out the elements of remuneration for creative work. This was a situation where the royalty is the same each month, regardless of how many and what works have been contributed. It also includes bonuses and holiday pay.
-This is a very favourable ruling, but it must be remembered that it applies to the company in question and its specific situation. The fact that the tax authorities lost before the NSA in this case does not mean that they will agree to such a wide deduction of author’s expenses. Perhaps the checking activities carried out by the tax authorities are intended to prevent other companies from applying similar solutions more widely, says Adam Allen.
You can read the whole article at this link: 50 proc. koszty w branży IT – czynności sprawdzające fiskusa (prawo.pl)