The Polish government is proposing a package of measures including tax breaks and a reduction in bureaucracy to encourage innovation, in the hope of avoiding a “middle income trap”. A statement by the government claimed: “The purpose of the proposed changes is to support innovation in the Polish economy, which will be the deciding factor in enabling GDP growth.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Science and Higher Education, Jarosław Gowin, commented: “If we want an innovative economy, we must further encourage cooperation between the worlds of science and business.”
The legislation focuses on enabling the commercialisation of research results, requiring research institutions to spend 0.5 percent of their subsidies on this. The proposals would also remove the current five-year time limit on how long inventors can claim a share of commercial revenue from their inventions. Under the legislation from 2017 there will be reduced tax on revenue from intellectual and industrial property, as well as additional financial incentives for R&D. In addition, universities and other research institutions will gain more flexibility in deciding how to engage their assets in business.
One of the stated aims of the legislation is to create a “knowledge economy” in Poland and therefore help the country’s economy develop into a high income one.
