Property Tax Settlement

Real estate is an integral part of every well-structured portfolio. Three factors are decisive for the success of such investments. Firstly, the investment in real estate has to be coherent from an economic point of view. Secondly, investment has to be tax-optimised both in the short and long-term and finally, you should not forget about a suitable exit strategy.

In this context a number of questions for the investor/s will arise.

• Share deal or asset deal, open-end or closed-end real property funds – which type of investment is the best in my current position?
• Who is to become the legal or beneficial owner of the property?
• Is a corporation or a partnership the most suitable form of business?
• Where should the company be based taking into consideration double taxation conventions and the applicable national tax legislation?
• Is the transaction subject to foreign withholding tax?
• Is it creditable?
• Can real estate transfer tax or trade tax be avoided?
• Is the deduction of interest expense ensured in spite of interest barrier regulations?
• Could you run the risk of unwittingly violating the law?

The international developments in the field of real estate and asset management have increased the complexity of the appropriate tax and regulatory framework considerably.

getsix® related tax services in the field of real estate, which we offer as follows:

• analysis of existing real estate portfolios;
• development of long-term, tax-optimised strategies for the acquisition;
• restructuring and sale of real estate investments;
• advice on tax optimisation in conjunction with real estate transfer tax and land tax;
• value added tax and income tax;
• advice on cross-border real estate transactions;
• advisory services for the development of open and closed-end real estate funds including product design, product structure and prospectus design;
• advice on the acquisition of large-scale projects such as hotels, holiday parks, shopping centres, commercial real estate or large residential portfolios.

getsix® services in the field of tax compliance are as follows:

• handling of the current financial accounting;
• preparation of single-entity financial statements and tax balance sheets;
• tax returns for all types of taxes relating to real estate;
• filing of objections with the authorities and filing of lawsuits before fiscal courts.

Property tax rates depend on property type and location. Tax is paid annually. The maximum property tax rates allowed by law change every year in Poland. They are set and announced by the Ministry of Finance, while local governments decide whether they will charge the highest tax allowed or not.