Deduction of Donations for Church Charity and Care Activities from Gross Income

Abstract

The authors of the article analyse Art. 55(7) of the Act of 17 May 1989 on the Relations between the State and the Roman Catholic Church in the Republic of Poland. It forms the legal basis for a tax relief involving the possibility of deducting a donation for church charity and care activities. The donation may be deducted by the donor from its gross income if the donor is in the possession of two documents issued by the beneficiary, i.e. ecclesiastical juridical person, i.e. an acknowledgement of donation receipt and a report on the allocation of the donation to the church charity and care activities. The interpretation of the analysed provision raises some doubts, in particular regarding the requirement to submit a report on how a donation will be expended by the beneficiary. Having this document is a prerequisite for deducting the donation from the tax base in calculating income tax. The interpretation of the said provision adopted by administrative courts does not seem to be correct. In the authors’ opinion, the provision also raises doubts of a constitutional nature.