President warns Poland will become business enemy of US if digital tax goes forward

WARSAW

Poland’s new president says he will oppose a government tax intended to hit US tech giants, a source close to Karol Nawrocki warned in an interview with Polish news site money.pl on Thursday.

"Poland will become a de facto business enemy of the United States," the source said. "Big tech companies will complain to Trump, and he will immediately write something on X," the US social media company, he added. "We've talked to the Americans about this many times."

The President's Office wrote in a statement that "this will cause an exodus of entities from Poland – to Ireland or the Czech Republic," leaving "Poland as only a settlement intermediary."

Thomas Rose, the US ambassador-designate to Poland, also warned that the tax would “have consequences.”

Nawrocki, a right-wing nationalist, is aligned with the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, and the ruling coalition is headed by the Civic Platform (PO), which has faced internal conflict in recent months. Nawrocki was endorsed by US President Donald Trump weeks before his election victory in June and has been invited to visit the White House on Sept. 3.

The digital tax would come into effect in 2027 and generate 2.5 billion Polish zloty ($685 million) annually for the budget. The tax would amount to 3% of revenue and would be paid by companies with global revenues exceeding €750 million ($875 million). The idea is to extract additional levies from giants such as Google and Facebook.

The ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, is adamant. His government has shifted Polish foreign policy towards a more euro-centric stance since coming to office in 2023 and is skeptical about Trump’s intentions in Ukraine.

“The time when any country, even a superpower, believes that someone will be a fief of another country is over. I have no intention of backing down," Deputy Prime Minister Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said in March.