Rz: Solar farm with lower real estate tax

Asked by the editorial team for a comment, Michał Nielepkowicz, tax adviser and partner at Thedy & Partners, emphasised that the NSA’s position, which amounts to a straightforward acknowledgement that transformer stations associated with photovoltaic panels do not constitute construction equipment and thus a structure for the purposes of real estate tax, deserves approval. The NSA rightly pointed out that transformer stations ensure that the elements of a generating set (such as photovoltaic panels) can be used for their intended purpose, and not the building parts of the whole of that set. In this respect, the photovoltaic panels – which is not in doubt – do not constitute a structure, subject to property tax. At the same time, the NSA rightly pointed out, which has not always been presented in the case law to date, that photovoltaic panels, do not serve to ensure the proper functioning of the building parts, but the exact opposite is true. Therefore, if only the building parts of photovoltaic panels can be subject to real estate tax as structures, then consequently any transformer stations associated with the panels will not be subject to real estate tax as structures.
Regardless of the factual correctness of such a position of the Supreme Administrative Court on real estate tax regulations, it is worth noting that such an approach means lower real estate tax on photovoltaic farms – and thus lower costs for the company using such energy sources and, at the end of the day, a lower electricity price, which should benefit not only owners of photovoltaic installations.
The entire article can be read in Rzeczpospolita of 7 February 2023, page A10