Two leading telecommunications organizations are protesting against the Hungarian government’s plans to levy taxes on internet and digital TV services, according to Privátbankár.hu.
The Hungarian Cable Communication Alliance and the Hungarian Cable TV and Telecommunications Alliance, both umbrella organizations of cable service providers, criticized the Parliament’s budget committee for giving the all-clear to the tax proposal without first hearing the views of professional groups involved in the issue.
The groups say taxes will slow the spread of digital literacy and hamper access to newer technologies that could provide a better quality of life.
Representatives of the associations nevertheless expressed hope that MPs will eventually agree that digital literacy and the availability of modern technologies are in the common interest, and that the proposed taxes would not serve this goal.
The two organizations represent more than 400 cable companies and over 100 internet service providers.
Unfortunately the government will not listen, and will impose the
tax regardless. They need the money to plug the holes in the
economy caused by their mismanagement, incompetence and
thievery, and will take it from anywhere they can. Nothing and no-
one can escape being taxed. What next? Window Tax? Air Tax?
Gravity Tax? There’s no justification for it, but then, they don’t need
any justification. “We’re the government and we do what we want”.
What do these people need a better quality of life for? Just pay up
and shut up.
It is also effectively censorship, as fewer people will be able to
afford access to these services and will instead have to rely on the
diet of propaganda and pap served up by the state outlets. Well,
that’s a side benefit for them, but a welcome one nonetheless.