A European country is alarmed by the loss of it’s youth to other countries, and is keen to stop this at a huge cost.
A new law in Poland is expected to come into effect this week, scrapping income tax for young polish workers in a bid to stop them from leaving the country.
The Polish government hops the tax exemptions will help stop the dramatic brain drain that the country has experienced since it joined the European Union 15 years ago.
According to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the move will avail new opportunities for young Polish people “so they match those available in the West.”
In the new law, Poles under the age of 26 who earn less than 85,528 Polish zloty ($22,547) a year will be exempt from the country’s 18% income tax starting August 1.
The average Polish salary is estimated to be a little below 60,000 zloty ($15,700) annually.
The government there says some 2 million people will qualify for the benefit.
Poland’s brain drain is attributed to the country joining the European Union in 2004. This enabled Polish citizens to gain rights to work across the bloc’s member countries without the need for a work permit or visa.
While advocating for the new law in parliament, Morawiecki said 1.7 million people had left Poland in the past 15 years.
“It’s as if the entire city of Warsaw left … it’s a gigantic loss,” CNN quotes Morawiecki.
“This must end, young people must stay in Poland,” Morawiecki added.
