Tusk and President Nawrocki clash over blocked fuel windfall tax; 4 bln złoty in limbo

Decision and immediate reaction

On Friday, President Karol Nawrocki sent the law on extraordinary profits from fuel sales to the Constitutional Tribunal for preventive review. The law would have imposed a tax on windfall profits earned between March and December 2026, with the proceeds intended to fund a government programme (CPN) designed to lower pump prices. Under the preventive review procedure, the legislation cannot take effect until the Tribunal rules.

Within hours, Prime Minister Donald Tusk took to social media to denounce the move. He called the decision "shocking" and warned voters to remember it the next time they fill up.

The President blocked a law that allowed taxing the gigantic profits of fuel companies, which could finance cheaper fuel at our stations (CPN program). Remember this at the pump.

Constitutional clash over retroactivity

The presidential office justified the referral by pointing to the constitutional principle that law should not act retroactively. President Nawrocki explained that while the law was to enter force in August, it would cover income earned from the beginning of March, meaning it imposed taxation with retroactive effect. He invoked the Latin maxim "Lex retro non agit".

Government minister Maciej Berek pushed back the same day, arguing that a tax on extraordinary profits is by nature backward-looking. "Profits are determined after a certain period, and extraordinary profits can only be taxed once they have occurred. Expecting such regulations to operate solely for the future is a misunderstanding," he wrote, adding that the president had likely received poor advice on the law's constitutionality.

Extraordinary profits can be taxed only once they have occurred. Expecting such regulations to operate solely for the future is a misunderstanding.

War of words and a 4 billion złoty price tag

The dispute escalated when the head of the President's Chancellery, Paweł Szefernaker, replied directly to Tusk. He wrote that it was long known the prime minister is an economic dilettante, and that trying to convince Poles a new tax would lower pump prices was disingenuous. Szefernaker urged the government to reduce VAT and excise on fuel instead, as the previous Law and Justice government had done, arguing that was the real way to lower costs rather than shifting the burden onto drivers. He concluded that President Nawrocki had "protected Poles from solutions that could have led to record-high gasoline and diesel prices."

Finance Minister Andrzej Domański then weighed in with a concrete figure. He said that sending the law to the Tribunal had blocked 4 billion złoty slated for the state budget - money that was supposed to form a shield against high fuel prices. Domański accused the president of siding with oil companies rather than with drivers, and warned that the blockage would strain public finances and delay the introduction of protective measures.

It has long been known that the current prime minister is an economic dilettante. Now he is trying to convince Poles that imposing a new tax on fuel will cause prices at the pump to fall.

What happens next

The law now sits with the Constitutional Tribunal, whose eventual ruling will determine whether the tax can be introduced. No timeline has been given for the Tribunal's decision, meaning the political stand-off over fuel prices and a 4-billion-złoty budget gap is likely to persist. Both sides have signalled they will not retreat, setting the stage for a prolonged institutional conflict.