A Polish government campaign to lure back emigrants who are living and working in the UK has folded after officials discovered planned tax breaks were unconstitutional.
As a result hundreds of thousands of Poles who may have been considering leaving the UK may now choose to remain.
Polish premier Donald Tusk swept into power last October on a pledge to bring in preferential tax rates and special loan agreements for returning Poles. Two-thirds of UK Poles voted for Tusk and his PO party in parliamentary elections.
But the the planned tax breaks for returning emigrants would favour them over Poles who stayed put and would therefore be unconstitutional, reports the Polish daily Polska.
PO party MP Jakub Szulc, who has been involved in the government’s programme for returning emigrants, said: “We would have to either introduce the same terms for all Polish citizens or not introduce any at all.”
However, the government is planning to launch an information campaign to encourage the emigrants to return, which will include adverts in the UK press.
