Swedish Spending, Irish Taxes – IFP in the Public Debate

In recent weeks, experts from the Institute of Public Finance (IFP) have been actively engaged in the public debate on the state of Poland’s finances and the growing budget deficit.

Our goal is to highlight that the current model – high public spending combined with shrinking budget revenues – is unsustainable. We refer to this phenomenon as “Swedish spending with a course toward Irish taxes.”

“If we want Swedish-level spending, we need Swedish-level taxes. Let me remind you that in Sweden, the income tax for the national average wage is over 50 percent. In Poland, at the same income level, it is 12 percent. Even at the minimum wage, income tax in Sweden amounts to 30 percent. The VAT rate in Sweden is 25 percent, compared to 23 percent in Poland,” – says Dr. Sławomir Dudek, President of the Institute of Public Finance.

Experts affiliated with the Institute comment on Poland’s public finance situation in interviews for nationwide media such as Newsweek Polska, TVN, and Gazeta Wyborcza, as well as in public appearances at events such as the Economic Forum in Karpacz.

There, Dr. Sławomir Dudek opened the business stage with a keynote lecture entitled “Swedish Spending with a Course Toward Irish Taxes? An Unsustainable Model.” In his analyses, Dr. Dudek emphasizes the need for cross-party agreement and the development of a deficit reduction strategy to ensure the state’s financial stability in the face of mounting challenges related to security and economic development.

“The opposition must stop practicing budgetary cynicism and hypocrisy. Work together to prepare a deficit reduction strategy – to safeguard the stability of public finances, to avoid further reactions from rating agencies, and to ensure a safe fiscal space for defense spending,” appeals Dr. Sławomir Dudek.

Full analyses and expert commentary from IFP can be found in our reports and media materials.*

• Interview in Newsweek Polska – “PiS has set the debt train in motion. We’ve fallen into the populism trap and are speeding without brakes”

• Interview in Gazeta Wyborcza – “Dr. Dudek: If a crisis hits, Poland won’t be able to defend itself. We no longer have fiscal space”

• Interview in Gazeta Wyborcza – “Sławomir Dudek, IFP: The draft budget for 2026 is risky. ‘A tightrope act’”

• Interview in XYZ – “The real deficit is 100 billion PLN higher.” Dr. Dudek on ‘propaganda’ in public finances

• Prof. Paweł Wojciechowski on the TV program Tak Jest

• Summary of the Economic Forum speech

• Report: “Risks of Excessive Public Debt. 2025 Edition”

*All materials are available in Polish. For readers who do not speak Polish, we recommend using browser-based translation plugins (such as those available in Chrome or Edge) to access the content in your preferred language