Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party said on Tuesday it was withdrawing a bill to raise social security contributions for high earners, throwing doubt over its plans to achieve a balanced budget in 2020.
The reform, which had met with criticism from both Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin and President Andrzej Duda, was forecast by the government to contribute over 5 billion zlotys ($1.3 billion) to the budget, and its withdrawal makes a deficit more likely.
"It increases the risk that it will not be possible to achieve a budget completely without deficit," PiS lawmaker Marcin Horala was quoted as saying by PAP.
PiS spokesman Anita Czerwińska said the party had decided the question required broad consultation and they would return to it, but declined to say if PiS would propose another project, according to PAP.
Despite the opposition of lawmakers from a smaller coalition partner, Gowin's the Agreement (Porozumienie) party who were against scrapping the limit citing its negative effects on business, PiS had hoped the bill could pass thanks to support from left-wing lawmakers.
The Left grouping said on Tuesday it would propose its own version of the reform.
Under the current system employees and businesses make social security contributions until the employee has earned 30 times the average salary.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters