Paweł Grata

Excise taxes, which in the budgetary practice of the Second Polish Republic were included in the category of indirect taxes, went through the complicated path of development within the two decades of interwar period. The first decade of independence brought about a territorial and material unification of these provisions, which were initially based on some solutions from the times of partitions, and later on the country’s own legal base. In mid–twenties, when the supporters of the monopoly taxation of certain means of consumption gained victory, there was a significant reduction of indirect taxes share in the income of the Treasury. During the Great Depression the situation has changed. The specifics of consumption tax guaranteed the stability of income it was generating, which resulted in real increase of tax put on excise products and the related increase of indirect taxes in the revenue. In the situation of deflation, such clearly visible fiscal policy of tax authorities resulted in severe and persistent decrease in sales of products subject to excise duty. Few reductions in tax rates occurred only in the mid– thirties. It has not changed, however, the overall trends in government policy towards indirect taxes focused on maximizing tax revenue. As a result, by the end of the interwar period, excise tax remained a stable and significant source of revenue from consumption tax.

Twenty years of independence turned out not to be long enough for the process of the construction of a coherent system of social policy to be finished. A complicated opening balance sheet, unfavourable economic and social structure of the state and, last but not least, a permanent lack of resources made it impossible to create a system which would satisfy existing needs. It remained in its construction phase and, though it was becoming more and more comprehensive, it was still extremely underfunded and flawed. This is confirmed by its limited coverage, which resulted from structural barriers. It was impossible to remedy this in the short interwar period, although the scale of problems and shortages was known. With time, social policy in Poland became a mature sphere of state activity, which is confirmed by the new objectives that currently lay before it, and by the regulatory and practical activities undertaken at the end of the 1930s.

 In the Second Polish Republic Jews played a significant role in industry, trade and crafts. As a result, tax matters were one of the most important fields of activity of the representatives of the Jewish minority in the Polish Parliament. Jewish parliamentarians tried to defend the economic interests of the Jewish minority in the years 1919–1939, and their speeches frequently defended all entrepreneurs in Poland as well. Generally speaking, the attitude of Jewish parliamentarians towards Polish tax policy was critical. From the mid-1920s they demanded tax reform. Moreover, they considered the industrial tax as the most harmful, as it hampered economic activities. Despite consistently reported demands, the effectiveness of Jewish politicians in this field was too small, and the decisions taken within the fiscal policy always depended on the will of the Polish majority in the parliament.