InfoCredit Business Index

• In the first quarter of this year, 147.4 thousand were closed and suspended. business activities, 120.6 thousand were opened and resumed.
• The InfoCredit microenterprise index calculated quarterly is worth -26.8 thousand. points, more or less the same as last year.  
• After a rather weak January and February, the situation improved slightly in March. The monthly IC index turned positive. It is higher than last year.
• What's next? It depends on many factors. Primarily on the economic situation, but mainly on the costs of running a business.

There are no changes in business activities. The first quarter did not bring any breakthrough despite the announcement of some relief for micro-entrepreneurs. This means that we still closed and suspended more activities than we opened and resumed. A good sign is that the situation improved in March. We will find out in the coming months whether it was just a one-off slight rebound or maybe something more.

If we take into account the entire first quarter, there is no visible recovery yet. There are still many more businesses being closed and suspended than new ones and being resumed. The IC index after the first quarter of 2024 is worth approximately the same as after the first quarter of 2023, i.e. -26.8 thousand. points vs. -27.7 thousand points a year ago. The situation improved slightly in March. The IC index calculated monthly increased each month (-22 thousand points in January 2024, -5.94 thousand in February and +1.1 points in March). It is currently higher than last year. However, this is not a significant increase that could indicate a change in the mood among small entrepreneurs. After March 2023, it was worth -925 points.

The rising operating costs from year to year certainly do not improve the mood. The situation of small entrepreneurs and self-employed people, especially those who settle their taxes on a scale, could be significantly improved by increasing the tax-free amount to PLN 60,000. zloty. However, this decision is moving further away rather than closer. Currently it looms somewhere on the horizon. It is certain that this will not be the year. Will it be 2025? It remains to be seen. Holidays from ZUS may provide some relief. We already know that a micro-entrepreneur will be able to choose any month once a year in which he will not have to pay ZUS, Labor Fund and Solidarity Fund contributions. And this is regardless of the form in which settlement is made. A better sparrow in the hand... Can ZUS holidays influence the growth of new and suspended businesses? We will find out about this in the coming quarters. One thing is for sure. Those who carry out activities for their former employers will not be able to benefit from the relief. So pushing for self-employment will not have an impact on the statistics for now.

Another thing that puts a heavy burden on entrepreneurs running their business is the non-deductible health insurance premium. And certainly the absurdity of paying this contribution when selling a car. The Polish order resulted in the income from the sale of a fixed asset being included in the basis for calculating the contribution. This absurdity has to disappear. We keep our fingers crossed.

InfoCredit business activity index

Our business activity index shows the ratio of new and resumed business activities to those closed and suspended. When the index is positive, it means that more activities were established and suspended than were suspended and closed. The higher the index value, the greater the tendency to open small businesses. When the index shows values below zero, it means a retreat from this form of economic activity. The more the index is negative, the more small entrepreneurs withdraw from business (definitely or temporarily). We publish the index quarterly (after each quarter) and monthly.