Tax exemption for Polish Nobel Prize winner

Poland’s finance minister has promised to grant a tax exemption to the country’s newest Nobel Prize winner, Olga Tokarczuk, on the cash money she won along with her accolade on Thursday.

Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk poses for photographs during the London Book Fair in London in March 2017.

Photo: EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

Tokarczuk, an acclaimed Polish writer, was on Thursday announced the winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Reacting to the news, Poland’s Finance Minister Jerzy Kwieciński said on Twitter: “I have made the decision to exempt the Nobel Prize winnings from personal income tax (PIT).”

Kwieciński, who doubles as investment and development minister in the conservative Polish government of Mateusz Morawiecki, congratulated Tokarczuk and said he was happy to see the work of the Polish author recognised internationally.

Podjąłem decyzję o zaniechaniu poboru podatku PIT od przychodów związanych z Nagrodą Nobla. W najbliższym czasie wydam stosowne rozporządzenie w tej sprawie. Raz jeszcze serdecznie gratuluję Pani Oldze #Tokarczuk i bardzo cieszę się z docenienia twórczości polskiej autorki

— Jerzy Kwieciński (@JerzyKwiecinski) October 10, 2019

Tokarczuk is set to receive 9 million Swedish kronor, or about PLN 3.5 million (USD 910,000), as a monetary award to go along with her Nobel Prize, Poland’s money.pl news website has reported.

The taxman could have pocketed at least PLN 350,000 from that amount, according to the Polish website.

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR, money.pl