In 2021, over 173.3 thousand entries were entered into the CEIDG register. applications for liquidation of sole proprietorships (sole proprietors). It is almost 22 percent. more than a year earlier, when there were 142.3 thousand of them. In relation to the years 2016-2019, the number of last year’s applications is at a very similar level (183.8 thousand – 2016, 177.6 thousand – 2017, 171.6 thousand – 2018, 168.5 thousand – 2019).
– Such a large increase in applications for the liquidation of KAUs is due to the rapidly deteriorating economic situation. Many entrepreneurs decided to close their business due to the dynamically growing costs of running a business, which did not translate into an increase in revenues – comments Adrian Parol, legal advisor and restructuring advisor.
As economist Marek Zuber states, in 2020, before submitting the above-mentioned The entrepreneurs’ conclusions were mostly stopped by the anti-crisis shields, which stabilized the situation of many companies, also facing problems before the pandemic. It is not 2021 that is extraordinary, but the earlier one. Moreover, the prospect of debt relief has often resulted in entities artificially lingering only to take advantage of the conversion of loans into non-repayable funds.
– With the cessation of government assistance, entrepreneurs who did not find themselves in the new conditions decided to liquidate their businesses. In my opinion, it was predictable from the very beginning – says Łukasz Goszczyński, legal advisor and restructuring advisor.
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Record months
Looking at the detailed data for individual months of 2021, you can see that by far the largest number of applications for business liquidation was in December – over 24 thousand. In the earlier months of last year there were an average of 13.5 thousand of them. The smallest number of them was submitted in July – 12.2 thousand. In turn, the greatest impact was in January, i.e. 16.4 thousand. In 2020, the highest number of applications was also made in January. However, it was higher than exactly a year later, because it exceeded 21.7 thousand. On the other hand, the smallest number of such documents was submitted to CEIDG in April – 6.6 thousand.
– A large number of applications at the beginning of 2020 is, in turn, the effect of a slowdown in the economy. Later it was extinguished by anti-crisis shields. On the other hand, the end of 2021 meant, on the one hand, an increased increase in the costs of running a business, e.g. gas, and, on the other hand, lower than expected turnover in many industries. Among them, for example, trade. In addition, the pandemic attack took its toll on many areas of the economy, including gastronomy – explains Marek Zuber.
According to Łukasz Goszczyński, the entrepreneurs’ decision to liquidate JDG in December last year. the changes announced with the introduction of the Polish Deal from January 2022 were introduced. They were faced with new levies and additional administrative duties, involving additional costs. According to the expert, many people, under the influence of media reports, in December 2021 decided to liquidate their activities because they had already operated on the verge of profitability, and subsequent charges could only aggravate the losses. After careful calculations, the entrepreneurs came to the conclusion that a full-time job, which would also be less risky, would be more profitable for them.
– I absolutely agree that the main impact on the high increase in applications in December 2021 was the Polish Order, which significantly worsened the conditions for doing business. Entrepreneurs who liquidate companies no longer want to bear increased tax burdens
while increasing the costs of running a business. As a consequence, the state budget will record less tax revenues, which is no longer being talked about so loudly – adds Adrian Parol.
Territorial differences
Last year, in all voivodships in the country, an increase in the number of applications for business liquidation was recorded annually. The biggest change concerns the province. Świętokrzyskie and amounts to as much as 25.4 percent. Podkarpackie Province has a similar result – 25 percent. Behind him is the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship – 24.2 percent. The smallest jumps were observed in Lubuskie – by 10.2%, Mazowieckie – by 12.9%, and also in Zachodniopomorskie – 15.1%.
– The greatest increases concern the voivodship Świętokrzyskie, Podkarpackie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie due to the economic structure of these voivodships. These parts of the country are dominated by micro-entrepreneurs providing services to the local community that were most affected by the effects of the pandemic. Given the economic crisis and the prospect of a New Deal in 2022, the only sensible alternative for them was to close their business, notes Adrian Parol.
On the other hand, Marek Zuber points out that the growth of the economy in the last year concerned industry in a special way. The voivodships with the highest increase in the number of insolvencies are less industrialized. For this reason, they found themselves in a rather bad situation. In addition, tourism has not fully rebuilt, which worsened the condition of the province. Kuyavian-Pomeranian or Subcarpathian.
– in the voivodeship Mazowieckie, the concentration of companies in the region of Warsaw, which is economically very well developed, contributed to a smaller increase in applications. This gives more room for maneuver to entities operating in this area. In the case of the province Lubuskie and Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeships, business ties with our western neighbor have gained significant importance. Many companies provide services in Germany, thus they are less dependent on the economic situation in Poland, which is getting worse and worse – emphasizes Adrian Parol.
It should also be added that throughout 2021, the largest number of applications for liquidation of operations was in the voivodeship. Mazowieckie – 23.6 thousand Silesia was in second place – 15.4 thousand. Greater Poland was placed third – 14.8 thousand. In turn, the lowest result had the voivodship Opolskie – 3.3 thousand Before him, there was Podlaskie and Lubuskie – almost 4.1 thousand, respectively. and 4.3 thous. Łukasz Goszczyński believes that the presented disproportions result from the differences between individual voivodeships in terms of economic potential and population size.
– Mazowieckie, Śląskie and Wielkopolskie voivodeships are the best developed areas with the largest numbers of enterprises. So there is an effect of scale. In Mazowieckie, the increase in bankruptcy is relatively small, but there are many companies, so the share of applications in relation to their number in the whole country is considerable – summarizes economist Marek Zuber.
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