The systemic transformation launched at the beginning of the decade resulted in changes which have affected all areas of business life. The transition from real socialism to market economy entailed a series of changes in the public finance system, obviously including the tax system of that time.

As the system completely failed to meet the requirements of the market economy towards which the Polish economy was evolving, it had to be changed radically. Under the previous regime, taxes did not fulfil their role, as they consisted in financial flows within the same collective sector. Since tax must be perceived as a valid parameter of choice for economic, investment and consumption decisions, the levies must be set at an adequate level. In the previous system, taxes fulfilled only their fiscal role, imposing constraints on the activity of all agents, in particular the few private companies. The tax system then in operation was incoherent and inconsistent, which resulted from attempts to tax by legal form and type of business activity rather than the scale of operations, expressed in the amount of income.

The crisis of public finance which presented itself between the first and second quarter of 1991 forced regulators to speed up the implementation of tax reforms. That said, it must be pointed out that the evolution of the system towards its present form had already started in the late eighties. Some of its important stages included the introduction of a uniform company tax in 1989, modified in the subsequent years (e.g. 1992). The next step was the launch of the personal income tax, replacing many earlier taxes, and then the gambling tax. In the following year the VAT, officially named "tax on goods and services" was introduced, along with excise tax, both of which became a reliable source of government revenue. Additionally, temporary import levy was put in place, as well as a tax on sale of shares in public trading. The changes in the tax system resulted also from the restoration of local government in Poland. In the process, a financial base had to be created for local government operations at the gmina (district) and, since 1999, the powiat (local borough) and voivodship levels. This base came to rest on local and central taxes. No further taxes were introduced in the subsequent years, but the existent ones were modified with respect to the rates, or scopes of application for the zero or reduced rate. Two major tax issues are still outstanding, namely the problem of property tax (the cadastre) and that of taxing the Polish agriculture.

The Polish tax system will probably continue to evolve for years to come, even considering the inevitable acceleration forced by the harmonisation with the EU tax system. The target system should be stable, transparent and predictable; it should guarantee sustained government revenue while remaining conducive to the growth of business activity.