Under the current proposal, the tax would apply to owners of at least three properties (apartments or houses), potentially affecting some 16 million dwellings across the country.
The idea – backed by some politicians from the Left (Lewica) and Together (Razem) groupings – is meant to curb speculative buying of housing and make home-ownership fairer.
Supporters argue that a value-based property tax is a more accurate reflection of wealth and could disincentivise hoarding of multiple homes.
However, critics and government officials note significant practical challenges.
According to deputy minister responsible for housing legislation, Tomasz Lewandowski, Poland currently lacks "a national, integrated property information system that would provide details on how many, what kind and who owns residential properties."
"Second, we lack assessed property values, which are supposed to form the basis for administrative decisions on tax amounts," he explained.
Lewandowski added that the scheme would involve over 16 million homes, which "someone with the appropriate expertise would have to value."
If implemented with a rate around 1 percent, the tax would only apply to owners of three or more properties, but for them the bill could rise substantially.
Under the current system – based on floor area – annual charges are modest; a switch to value‑based taxation for multiple-property owners could substantially increase costs.
Property taxes in OECD/EU countries
Across most OECD and EU countries, property taxation is based on market or cadastral value, not floor area, which is considered fairer and more fiscally efficient.
Countries like Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands use regularly updated valuations that allow property taxes to track real housing prices.
As a result, these states tend to collect a higher share of public revenue from property taxes, giving local governments more stable financing compared with many Central and Eastern European countries that still rely on area-based systems, according to OECD data.
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Source: PAP, portalsamorzadowy.pl, OECD