Across Europe: Investment savings account for wealth creation and innovation

‘From saving to investing’ – this is how Polish Minister of Finance and Economy Andrzej Domański presented the tax-advantaged investment savings account (Osobistego Konta Inwestycyjnego – OKI). The OKI gives savers in Poland the opportunity to invest in high-yield investments such as shares, funds and other securities with tax incentives. At the same time, the Polish government wants to use the OKI to further develop the local capital market. Deutsches Aktieninstitut is calling on the German government to follow the example of Poland and countries such as Sweden, France and Italy, where investment savings accounts have already been successfully established.

"The OKI provides citizens in Poland with an effective tool for building wealth. As a tax-advantaged securities account, it allows people to participate in the success of the economy and at the same time acts as a lever for more volume in the capital market. In Germany alone, people are not trading. Germans continue to work for their money and do not let their money work for them. We strongly recommend that the German government introduce such an investment savings account in Germany as well," says Henriette Peucker, Chief Executive and Member of the Board of Deutsches Aktieninstitut.

The investment savings account model has been used very successfully for years in countries such as Sweden, France and Italy. The European Commission is currently working on recommendations to make it easier for member states to offer investment savings accounts. The investment savings account introduced in Poland is based on the Swedish model of the Investeringssparkonto. All Polish citizens now have the opportunity to invest up to PLN 100,000 (GBP 23,364) tax-free in shares, funds and other securities.