The systematically raised minimum wage is an economic quantity that affects various values in many other areas, such as the amount of benefits or contributions. The minimum wage also affects other values, in areas not necessarily strictly related to economics, such as the amount of fines that can be imposed in criminal fiscal proceedings.
The amount of a fine for a fiscal offense
The fines provided for fiscal offenses are imposed not in an amount, but in daily rates. Thus, the amount of the fine is determined by multiplying the number of daily rates by the amount of the rate. As a rule, the lowest number of rates is 10, the highest is 720.
The daily rate cannot be less than one thirtieth of the minimum wage or exceed its four hundredth (this 1/30).
As of July 1, 2023, the minimum wage is 3,600 zlotys, so the minimum rate is 120 zlotys. The minimum fine for a fiscal offense is therefore 10×120 zlotys, or 1200 zlotys.
The maximum fine, on the other hand, is 720×(400×120 zlotys), so a total of 34,560,000.00 zlotys. This is more than PLN 1,000,000 higher than the amount in effect in the first half of 2023, and as much as PLN 5,662,080 higher than the amount in effect until December 31, 2022.
The amount of the fine for a fiscal offense
Unlike the fine assessed for a fiscal offense, the fine for a fiscal offense is assessed in amounts rather than in daily rates.
As a reminder, a fiscal misdemeanor is an act prohibited by the Fiscal Penal Code under the penalty of a fine determined by a sum, if the amount of public receivables depleted or exposed to depletion or the value of the object of the act does not exceed five times the amount of the minimum wage at the time of its commission.
It follows from the above that the multiple of the minimum wage also determines whether the perpetrator of a criminal act will be liable for a fiscal offense or only a fiscal offense.
For a fiscal offense, a fine can be imposed, as a general rule, within the limits of one-tenth to twenty times the minimum wage, unless the Code provides otherwise. Modifications apply, for example, to a fine imposed by a fine (no more than five times the minimum wage) or a warrant sentence (ten times the minimum wage).
The minimum fine for a fiscal offense is thus 360 zlotys, and the maximum is up to 72,000 zlotys. However, the fine imposed by a criminal fine may not exceed PLN 18,000, and the fine imposed by a warrant sentence may not exceed PLN 36,000.
Summary
As can be seen from the above entry, the increase in the minimum wage affects many different areas. Since the trend is for the minimum wage to be increased, rather than the other way around, the fines imposed in criminal prosecutions will increase year after year.