In today's session, Speaker of the House Stanisław Małachowski urged continued work on the ongoing project, highlighting its benefits for public finance and fair tax distribution for all citizens. He called upon Secretary Jan Łuszczewski to read the proposed draft legislation.

Following the reading of set points and yesterday's agreement on submitting estate transactions for tax measurement, a proposed clause about voluntary disclosures was debated. According to this clause, aside from transactions, citizens are to submit voluntary statements regarding their assets to the commission.

Opposition to this clause came from Representative Walerian Strojnowski from Volhynia, arguing it was redundant as citizens had already provided this information under oath. He requested the removal of the clause on voluntary disclosures, emphasising that it would not benefit The Union and instead questioned its citizens' integrity.

The counter opinion was presented by Senator Piotr Sumiński of Brześć Kujawski, who contended that various methods will better reveal the true state of an individual's assets and therefore accurate tax contributions.

Following several perspectives including Representative Ignacy Zakrzewski from Poznań, the room explored various ideas about tax assessment. Opinions varied, with some members advocating for voluntary disclosures to complement estate transactions while others like Representative Józef Mierzejewski from Podolia argued for sticking only to the transaction method as the most reliable.

Representative Michał Bernowicz from Nowogródek shared his constituents' gratitude to the President for his sacrifices for the nation's wellbeing. Further discussions centered on tax equitability and avoidance of burdensome taxes.

The debate continued with myriad members like Representative Antoni Suchodolski from Smoleńsk asserting that all citizens should fairly contribute to the national treasury according to a unified measure.

The session drew to a close with voting on the clause about voluntary disclosures, resulting in a close tally: 64 votes for the affirmative and 68 for the negative, thus excluding the clause from the draft legislation.

There was a dismissed request for a secret ballot from Representative Jan Zieliński from Zakroczym, following a reference to union legislation prohibiting secret ballots in tax matters from Representative Michał Czacki from Chernihiv. Meanwhile, Representative Julian Niemcewicz from Latvia contended that a call for a secret ballot wasn't valid post-vote.

At the close of the session, Speaker Małachowski suspended the meeting until Thursday. The President, Stanisław August Poniatowski, also addressed the Cabinet, and through the Under Secretary of State for Poland-Ukraine Priest Maciej Garnysz, officially adjourned the session.

Stay tuned for more reports from the floor of Congress, as lawmakers continue to battle through complex issues of tax reform and national governance in The Union.

Topics: Tax project; Voluntary declarations of assets; Discussion on tax calculation methods; Criticism and defense of tax proposals; Expressing gratitude to the King; Thanking the Sejm Marshals; Debate on tax burden equality; Proposals for tax rate settings on serf labor; Secret balloting on tax issues; Suspension of the Sejm session;