Law & Justice, who have just won an absolute majority in the recent Polish elections, are said to be planning a supermarket chain tax in the country. 

The 2% tax will apply to supermarkets with areas of more than 250 square metres according to reports, and it is expected to bring in around 3.5 billion zlotys per year (€800 million).

Many of the large supermarket chains in Poland are foreign owned and the tax is designed to prevent profits going abroad. There is a hope that the tax will curb foreign ownership in the retail sector and level the playing field for smaller businesses, one of the big issues during the election campaign.

The new tax has also been implemented in Hungary, where a 0.1% to 2.5% tax has been applied to large supermarkets.

In 2013, Law & Justice (PiS) made an issue of the fact that 175 of the largest retails chains in Poland paid only 440 million zloty (€100 million) in tax, only 0.47% of their combined annual revenues.

Critics of the proposition by PiS argue that it will merely lead to price rises for consumers.