Protests against self-employed tax reform

On Tuesday, several hundred demonstrators blocked traffic in Budapest in protest against the government’s amendments to the popular simplified tax scheme (KATA), designed for self-employed entrepreneurs. READ MORE

A critical take on PM Orbán’s tax rebate plan

A left-wing columnist comments on the Prime Minister’s income tax waiver plan for 2021. He accuses the government of trying to buy votes., but is confident that Hungarians will not fall for it. READ MORE

Families to get full income tax rebate in 2021

A pro-government commentator welcomes Prime Minister Orbán’s announcement,that the government will fully refund personal income tax paid in 2021 by parents if economic growth surpasses 5.5 per cent. READ MORE

Parliament adjusts advertisement tax rate

A left-wing columnist interprets the new advertisement tax rules as discriminatory. He accuses the government of intending to silence media outlets critical of the current regime. READ MORE

Government urged to reconsider bank tax

Commentators on both Right and Left call on the government to reconsider the surplus taxes on banks as the state buys an interest in retails banks and the economy grows at a 3.5 per cent rate. READ MORE

Hungary buys stake in ERSTE, pledges bank tax cut

Conservative pundits welcome the government’s decision to temporarily invest in ERSTE Bank Hungary and pledge to take out the surplus bank tax. This, they believe, will help consolidate the banking sector and boost lending. A left-wing commentator doubts that the government will fulfil its promises. READ MORE

Tax authority chief sues US Chargé d’Affaires

A conservative columnist welcomes Ildikó Vida’s libel lawsuit against André Goodfriend. A left-wing pundit considers the ongoing Hungarian-US skirmishes harmful. READ MORE

The ads tax war

Népszabadság calls the news-retaliation tactics employed by RTL “inelegant”; Élet és Irodalom condemns those colleagues who would like to take their own share of the ads tax spoils, while Magyar Nemzet thinks complaints about those matters disprove earlier allegations that the press is not free in Hungary.

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Ads tax approved by Parliament

A left-wing columnist accuses the government of introducing censorship through a selective media advertisement tax. A pro-government commentator, on the other hand, welcomes the taxation of commercial media outlets with little added social value. READ MORE

Ads tax plan under fire

The leading pro-government daily says a proposed new law would endanger media freedom without aubstantially benefiting the budget.   READ MORE