Dr. Wojciech Sztuba on the future of consulting, taxation and renewable energy in Poland

Dr. Wojciech Sztuba, a licensed tax advisor and Managing Partner at TPA Poland, has built an impressive career as a business consultant, expert in renewable energy markets, and educator. Since 2016, he has served as the president of the Polish branch of the International Fiscal Association (IFA) and, since 2019, as a member of the IFA European Region Executive Committee. He lectures on tax studies at the Warsaw School of Economics and is a renowned speaker at specialist conferences and webinars.

With extensive experience in tax and business advisory services, particularly for real estate and energy companies, Mr. Sztuba specializes in tax planning, transactional support, corporate taxation strategies, and managing tax functions. He has also authored reports for the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) and contributed significantly to discussions on renewable energy and commercial real estate in Poland.

In this exclusive interview, he shares his insights on the future of consulting, the role of technology, Poland’s corporate tax policy, advice for entrepreneurs, and the transition to renewable energy.

Q: How do you see the consulting industry evolving in Poland over the next decade?

Wojciech Sztuba: Doing business is getting more and more dynamic, globalized and complicated whereas the Polish economy is well on track strengthening its position on European and global markets. This should guarantee stable and growing demand for consulting services in the long run. On the other hand the knowledge-based services are under constant technological pressure, in particular the one stemming from AI and automation. This means that surely the support needed from consultants will have to be delivered differently, more agile, based on more accurate data. 

Q: What role does technology, such as AI and data analytics, play in modern consulting strategies?

Wojciech Sztuba: AI and other new technologies in the area of process automation or robotisation have already changed the way business services such as consulting or outsourcing are being rendered. In most cases these technologies serve to increase efficiency in routine functions like data entry or extraction, statistical analytics, translation or text edition. It is fascinating to see how fast the quality and reach of those technologies is developing and at the same time it poses questions about the future of current business models. Some would ask if consultants will survive the competition with the AI models and such questions should not be underestimated. But I strongly believe that the it is too early to assume functional replacement of value that knowledge-based services create, but rather to focus on becoming consultants who are able to expand their abilities and capacities using state-of-the-art technology and adopting technological changes in real time.

Q: How does Poland compare to other EU countries in terms of corporate tax policy?

Wojciech Sztuba: Even though CIT does not belong to highly harmonized taxes in the EU such as VAT, it is subject to significant regulatory impact from the level of the EU or OECD. Poland is usually quickly implementing European directives introducing new tax measures, most of which focus recently on preventing harmful tax competition and shifting profits between countries. Polish tax payers have therefore witnessed an increasing complexity of corporate taxation in the areas related to transfer pricing, mandatory disclosures, general and special anti-abuse regulations and – most recently – global top-up taxation of undertaxed income (so called Pillar 2). The latter amendment coming into effect by the beginning of 2025 in Poland may turn out harmful for our investment incentives’ schemes that proved to be an important competitive advantage when attracting foreign investors. This is because Poland, despite all mentioned new regulations, duties and restrictions, still belongs to low-tax-countries and offers competitive tax conditions for global players.

Q: What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs about tax planning in the early stages of their business?

Wojciech Sztuba: Business taxation is certainly not the main topic when thinking about starting-up an enterprise. It is rather the back-office-function that simply has to work smoothly in order not to distract the entrepreneur from doing the actual business. But it is also true that neglecting this area can be very harmful and potentially even lethal for new businesses. Therefore entrepreneurs should devote appropriate time and resources to make right decisions up front as regards the legal form of business and its tax structuring as well as to streamline the ongoing tax compliance function.

Q: What challenges do developers face when transitioning from traditional energy projects to renewable ones?

Wojciech Sztuba: Developing property projects of all kind faces raising demand from tenants or buyers to offer products (offices, flats, warehouses etc.) certified at highest level towards so-called net zero. For buildings it means in practice two issues. At first, newly permitted projects have to demonstrate a high degree of energy efficiency both in terms of heat and power. This poses challenges with respect to deployed construction materials and technologies, such as insulation, so that the property is consuming as little electricity and heat as possible. Secondly, developers strive to make sure that the residual power that has to be delivered to energy efficient property is 100% green i.e. derives from renewable energy sources. This can be achieved either by adding e.g. a rooftop PV installation at site, preferably along with a power storage system, or contracting green energy delivery via physical or virtual corporate power purchase agreements (cPPA). In the near future, buildings that are far away from net zero will be very difficult to sell or even to rent.

Dr. Sztuba’s forward-thinking perspective reflects the challenges and opportunities facing businesses in Poland and beyond. From navigating technological disruption in consulting to addressing the complexities of tax policy and the urgency of transitioning to renewables, his insights provide valuable guidance for businesses looking to thrive in an era of change.

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