On 1 October, president Karol Nawrocki signed a bill imposing a 60 percent taxation on extraordinary profits of fuel companies and directed it to the Constitutional Court in succession. Sławomir Mentzen considered this decision to be a surrender to government pressure. For Poles fuel prices, safety of savings and limits of retro-taxation are at stake.
Signature and control of the Constitutional Court
Karol Nawrocki announced the decision on Thursday's message. He signed the law on taxation on extraordinary profits from the sale of liquid fuels, but besides announced that it should be referred to the Constitutional Court in a follow-up procedure. The bill can so enter into force and its constitutional compatibility will be investigated after the President's signature.
This is the government's second approach to this tribute. In July, Nawrocki directed an earlier law for preventive control, primarily due to the taxing of income generated before the entry into force of the legislation. September phase of the fuel bill dispute showed that the Presidential Palace did not retreat these reservations. The Parliamentary rapporteur, Ms Kierzek-Koperska, admitted on 17 September that the government had decently submitted the same bill for the second time.
The president explained the signing of advanced fuel price pressures and expecting immediate reductions at stations. He attributed work for their level to the government. At the same time, he announced his own project, which aims to effectively reduce corporate profits and lower prices. The signature itself does not so end the dispute. It transfers it to the grounds of constitutional control and political work for driver's accounts.
60 per cent of profit over the established threshold
Project discussed in the Sejm includes profits achieved from 1 March to 31 December 2026, although the Act is to enter into force on 1 November. The taxation is intended to apply to fuel producers in Poland and companies licensed to trade liquid fuels abroad.
The taxation base will not be the full profit of the company. The legislator wants to compare the actual fuel sales gross with the level resulting from the average margin of the company in 2025, increased by 20 percent. Only a surplus above this threshold will be taxed at 60 percent. For companies without a business past in 2025 or with a very low margin, a minimum mention margin of 2 percent was provided. The final settlement is due until 30 April 2027.
The government presents the tribute as a origin of backing for cover against costly fuel. The Ministry of Finance described the mechanism as a consequence to the oil price surge and above average fuel companies' margins. The main problem remains: the bill reaches profits from March, although it will apply 8 months later. This strikes legal certainty without which the free economy turns into a field of ad hoc power decisions.
Mentzen: president succumbed to force Tusk
Sławomir Mentzen reacted harshly. In the message cited by portal To Things stated that he profoundly regretted the President's decision and accused him of submitting to Donald Tusk's propaganda. The Confederate co-leader besides assessed that the retroactive imposition of the taxation was contrary to the constitution. The Constitutional Court will issue a final evaluation in this case.
Mentzen pointed to the effect overlooked in government narrative. The taxation is on companies, but the economical consequences can besides be felt by the shareholders of Orlen and the savers in funds holding the company's shares. A smaller company's output may mean a lower dividend and a weaker asset valuation. This is not automatic or accurately calculated before the taxation settlement, but must not pretend that the state taxation disappears in vacuum.
The driver needs a lower price, not a political spectacle.
The government has the right to look for a way to take over any of the extraordinary pensions arising during the crisis. However, it must show 2 things: the compatibility of the solution with the constitution and the real relation between the taxation collected and the price paid by the driver. There is no mechanics in the bill that will force the stations to drop immediately. There are budgetary implications and a political promise to usage them as shields.
Transfer of work for fuel prices will not fill the tank of the Polish family. Fuel affects the cost of transport, food, services and production. Therefore, the State should reduce its own burden and build competition alternatively of presenting another taxation as a simple costly medicine. Nawrocki's signature gives the government a tool, but it doesn't give him an alibi. Poles will settle the power from prices on dust, not from the speech of the conference.
Source: To Things, Parliament stenogram of 17 September 2026., Ministry of Finance
Source: To Things
