Poland presses President Nawrocki to sign windfall tax on fuel firms to cut pump prices

Cabinet and parliamentary pressure

Polish Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka and leaders from Nowa Lewica urged President Karol Nawrocki on Thursday to sign legislation establishing a windfall profit tax on energy companies. Motyka addressed the dispute in Poznań during the opening of the sixth European Local Government Forum Local Trends at the Poznań International Fair. The legislation passed the Senate without amendments last week, establishing a revenue mechanism estimated between 4 billion PLN and nearly 5 billion PLN. Government officials intend to direct the proceeds into the "Ceny Paliwa Niżej" program to subsidize retail fuel costs. Motyka maintained that public pressure is necessary to ensure the head of state approves the bill rather than blocking it.

If we all want to refuel cheaper, there are no half measures here and the president should sign the act. If the president wants to condemn Poles to higher fuel prices, he will not sign this act. This is not playing politics, this is not the Sims, this is not a jelly wrestling match with the government, this is a serious matter.

Constitutional standoff and budget limits

The legislation faces institutional hurdles after President Nawrocki referred an earlier, similar fuel windfall tax bill to the Constitutional Tribunal in July 2026. Motyka observed that the president has not yet vetoed the current iteration, suggesting that the economic stakes are becoming clear to the presidential palace. In defending the measure, Motyka pointed to a 2023 precedent in which the previous United Right cabinet imposed a windfall levy on coal mining enterprise Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa. The minister contrasted the two policies, noting that the previous administration absorbed the levy into the general budget whereas the current plan allocates the funds directly to consumer fuel relief. He warned that general state revenues cannot easily replace the targeted tax due to existing financial allocations for national defense, public infrastructure, and social assistance programs, making alternative funding for what would be the largest shield program in the European Union exceptionally difficult.

Regional coordination and foreign benchmarks

The push to enact the windfall levy coincides with similar regulatory interventions across Central Europe. Motyka pointed to the Czech Republic, which introduced a price ceiling mechanism and tax cuts financed by windfall levies on energy corporations. Within Poland, the political coalition is mounting regional campaigns to build support for the measure. In Wrocław, Nowa Lewica officials organized a public appeal urging the president to approve the bill without political calculations. Wrocław city councilor and local party secretary Dominik Kłosowski stated that the regulation would redistribute corporate earnings to lower fuel expenses for everyday drivers by 1.5 to 2 PLN per liter.

We appeal to President Nawrocki not to scheme but to sign the lower fuel prices act. So that we can take from rich fuel corporations that earn billions on these shocks. After this regulation, fuel prices at gas stations will fall by 1.5 to 2 zlotys.

Consumer costs and corporate profits

The debate unfolds as elevated retail prices affect household budgets across the country. Benchmark data shows that national average retail prices stand at 8.19 PLN per liter for 95 unleaded gasoline, 9.14 PLN per liter for diesel, and 3.22 PLN per liter for liquefied petroleum gas. Drivers interviewed in Wrocław reported paying nearly 700 PLN to fill an 80-liter tank, noting that prices had climbed from 6.50 PLN up to 9 PLN. Meanwhile, refining group Orlen generated nearly 16 billion PLN in net profit during the first half of the year, an increase of 10 billion PLN compared to the same period in the previous year. The government plans to use 4 billion PLN from the windfall tax to finance subsequent stages of the subsidy program.