The election of the form of taxation for income earned from non-agriculture business activities – commentary on Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 22 February 2024, II FSK 710/21

This commentary is critical and concerns the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 22 February 2024, II FSK 710/21. The SAC was wrong to consider that taxpayer can validly submit a declaration of intent regarding the choice of the form of taxation for income earned from non- -agricultural business activities in the content of the bank transfer order. The election of taxation according to the proportional scale must be made explicitly, as it constitutes an exception to the general rule of progressive taxation. The main thesis of this paper is that the declaration of the chosen form of taxation must be submitted within the statutory deadline, addressed to the competent tax authority, and duly signed by the taxpayer. Submitting such a declaration through a bank transfer order does not meet these formal requirements and cannot be deemed a conventional act that validly establishes the legal relationship of tax liability. The commented judgment deserves attention due to the existing discrepancies in interpretation regarding the correct way to notify the tax authority about the choice of the form of taxation in personal income tax.