A hole after excise duty and sugar tax. How much will the budget lose due to the president's decision?

The head of the Ministry of Finance, Andrzej Domański, told PAP that the reduction in revenues as a result of the president's veto of new excise tax rates on alcohol and the sugar levy will not require changing the budget for 2026. He added that last year the government kept the deficit within the assumed limit.

Last December President Karol Nawrocki vetoed the provisions establishing new excise tax rates on alcohol. He also did not agree to increase the fee related to the content of sugar and sweeteners in drinks.

Minister of Finance and Economy Andrzej Domański, participating in the conference of the largest organization of Norwegian entrepreneurs, NHO, told PAP that the revenues lost as a result of the presidential decisions will not require changing the budget act for 2026. Although the vetoed amounts are – in his opinion – “significant”, the council of ministers is able to manage them.

He noted that work on the budget in parliament has not been completed yet.

“The presidential veto works well. These are bad and unwise decisions, contrary to the president's stories about his alleged concern for public finances. Let us remember that all income from the sugar levy goes directly to the National Health Fund. The presidential veto will limit its financing, but we are already getting used to it,” said the minister.

The Ministry of Finance reported earlier that, according to calculations, the increase in excise duty on alcohol should guarantee revenues in this year's budget of approximately PLN 1.96 billion, and the increase in the sugar levy would generate over PLN 1.13 billion.

When asked about the budget deficit for the previous year, Domański referred to the official data, which will be published after collecting all the necessary information.

“The details of the deficit implementation will be made public after the standard transition period needed to close the expenditure. Since we did not amend the budget, we kept the deficit within the previously assumed limit,” he pointed out.

The budget act for 2026 passed by the Sejm in December (the Sejm is to consider the Senate's amendments to it on Friday) assumes that state expenditure will amount to PLN 918.9 billion and the deficit will not exceed PLN 271.7 billion. State budget revenues are expected to amount to PLN 647.2 billion. The budget includes record spending on national defense, exceeding PLN 200 billion, which corresponds to 4.81 percent. GDP. PLN 247.8 billion is to be allocated to health care, which is 6.81 percent. GDP, and the government's priority will be investments in medical infrastructure and human resources. Expenditures on roads and railways will amount to PLN 53.9 billion, including PLN 20.1 billion from the state budget.

The budget for 2025 allowed for a deficit of almost PLN 288.8 billion, providing for expenses of nearly PLN 921.62 billion and revenues of PLN 632.85 billion. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Finance, after November last year state revenues amounted to PLN 526.1 billion, expenditures PLN 771 billion, which meant a deficit of PLN 244.9 billion.

From Oslo Mieszko Czarnecki (PAP)

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