Poland scraps 22% tax on CT services

An amendment to Poland's tax code, effective from December 1, could eliminate a barrier to the development of the clinical research market in the east European country. A report by analyst firm Polish Market Research said the change to Article 27 of the Goods and Services Tax Act involves making the list of "expert services" compiled under the legislation more explicit to ensure that clinical research is taxed in the client's country, rather than Poland.

The situation in Poland has been confusing for potential contractors, with four separate categories under which contract research organizations operate, some of which are GS tax exempt. To make matters worse, individual tax inspectors allegedly have extensive latitude to determine which category a specific case will be treated as.