Abstract

The so-called anti-hybrid clause (article 20 of the act 16 on corporate income tax) was implemented into the Polish legal system on 1.1.2015. The aim of this regulation was the elimination of a phenomenon regarding untaxed cash (dividends) acquired through Polish subjects in a situation when foreign companies withdrawing this cash made a deduction from their tax base while using available hybrid instruments in the country. Based on the lack of precision of Polish regulation (using too vague utterances), the practice of two and a half years of functioning of anti-hybrid clause showed attempts of its exploitation by tax authorities in situations when they should not be covered by this regulation. It especially involved dividends withdrawn to Polish parent companies by subsidiaries with headquarters in Switzerland and came from the character of Swiss tax system (taxation on a cantonal and federal level) and applied by Polish tax authorities an expansive clarification of statutory premises of the anti-hybrid clause. The position of tax authorities was then corrected by administrative courts, however, according to the author, it would be recommended to apply amendment of article 20 of the act 16 on corporate income tax.