According to ZUS, at the end of last year the maximum amount of the active payer's debt amounted to PLN 818 million. By comparison, the erstwhile year was 4 million PLN higher. According to experts, problems arising from restructuring of certain sectors and rising labour costs contribute to debt. However, any economical operators deliberately avoid payments, frequently utilizing different legal gaps. There is besides an opinion that debt enforcement tools are inactive ineffective. And there are suggestions to introduce restrictions on debtors. Additionally, the data shows that by nearly 10% the average debt of the active payer, which is now PLN 34 thousand, increased.
Million backlog
As of 31 December 2024, the maximum amount of debt in active payer accounts amounted to PLN 818 million and the minimum amount amounted to PLN 0.01. The erstwhile year was PLN 822 million and PLN 0.01 respectively. Alicja Wozniak, a lawyer from Ars Aequi, sees 2 key issues in this data. Firstly, these are serious backlogs generated by large economical operators. This may be due to both temporary financial difficulties and deliberate avoidance of payments, frequently through legal gaps. Secondly, formalism of the ZUS settlement strategy leads to registration of even a penny underpayment. They are frequently the consequence of accounting errors, roundings or delays in transfers.
– Problems arising from restructuring of certain sectors contribute to increasing debt. An example of specified legal condition, which is simply a consequence of restructuring, is the Act of 20 December 2023 on the amendment of the Act on the Functioning of Coal Mining. Pursuant to Article 5a(2), repayment of commitments shall be suspended. Another issue, possibly contributing to the debt of entrepreneurs, is rising labour costs along with increases in wages, which in turn is accelerated by the increase in prices of goods and services. For any sectors, specified as wellness care, wage increases can be hard to lift," comments Agnieszka Sowa-Kofta, manager of the Institute of Labour and Social Affairs.
Alicja Wozniak, serious backlogs and formalism of the settlement strategy propose the request for systemic changes. The expert means to improve enforcement against large debtors through faster procedures and more decisive legal steps, as well as to simplify settlement rules in case of minimum backlog. This would relieve both entrepreneurs and ZUS itself, expanding the efficiency of the full system.
– Debt enforcement tools are not effective in the light of existing legislation. A five-year limitation period and a comparatively low level of fines contribute to this. Attention must besides be paid to the situation of companies which are presently having difficulty maintaining liquidity. For them, the specified increase in financial sanctions does not seem to be a mechanics that possibly increases the efficiency of recovery of arrears," says Agnieszka Sowa-Kofta.
ZUS has legal instruments specified as execution in administration, seizure of bank accounts, assets or salaries. However, their efficiency can be rather limited, as Aldona Międlar-Adamska from Ars Aequi’s law firm convinces. The expert points out that entrepreneurs frequently take actions to impede execution. For example, they hide assets, carry out asset transfers, or declare bankruptcy. surely in any cases 1 can talk about pathology – conscious evasion of the work to regulate contributions. However, entrepreneurs sometimes fall into debt spirals due to liquidity problems. This requires a more flexible approach and support for debt restructuring.
– The existing rules request to be modified, in peculiar with respect to improving enforcement procedures and simplifying procedures for the recovery of claims. Mobilising restrictions on active debtors could work. I mean, for example, the ban on public tenders, the blocking of access to EU funds or the relief of contributions after exceeding a certain catch-up ceiling. However, specified restrictions should be applied with caution," says Aldona Międlar-Adamska.
Average debt increases
As of 31 December 2024, the average debt of the active payer amounted to PLN 34 thousand. This is 9.7% more than a year earlier, erstwhile it was at the level of PLN 31 thousand. According to Aldona Międlar-Adamska, this proves the increasing difficulties in timely settlement of claims against ZUS. This can be due both to the increase in public burdens, including social safety contributions, and the request for payers to adjust financial priorities. The expert argues that inflation plays an crucial function here – it increases operating costs. This may lead to the payment of contributions being moved to the background. At the same time, the increase in the contribution base, based on average wage, further increases the burden on entrepreneurs.
– It is crucial that payers approach to timely settlement of liabilities to the Social safety Office. In a situation of limited financial liquidity, any payers may respect contributions as a lower precedence than another claims, which unfortunately results in a build-up of backlogs," says Alicja Wozniak.
The increase in debt is peculiarly noticeable to smaller entities. According to Mędlar-Adamska, for them additional liabilities can importantly affect liquidity. An expert from Ars Aequi emphasizes that a statistical payer may face expanding difficulties in timely regulation of liabilities to ZUS, especially if its revenues do not increase proportionally to expanding operating costs.
– The direction of legislative changes would require detailed analyses, on the 1 hand economical and legal reasons, and on the another hand attitudes of entrepreneurs and real opportunities to increase recovery of outstanding debts. Undoubtedly, the debt in active payer accounts is not beneficial for the overall financial stableness of the system, says the manager of the Institute of Labour and Social Affairs.
text and photograph source: MondayNews.pl
