In spite of the crisis, the number of registered taxpayers in Hungary grew in 2009, Janos Szikora, head of tax office APEH, said at an event organised by APEH and the Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Trade (MKIK) on Monday.
Mr Szikora said 76,722 new companies registered as taxpayers in the year to December, while 62,120 were taken off the books.
Companies asked to reduce HUF 47.2bn in preliminary tax payments in the year to November, up from HUF 31.3bn for the whole year in 2008. Companies also requested preferential payment schemes for a bigger value than last year, he added.
The amount of back taxes grew by about HUF 400bn from the end of 2008. Even back taxes owed by operating companies rose by about HUF 100bn, reflecting more extensions of payment deadlines and for bigger values.
The number of liquidations initiated in January-November grew to 11,779 — including 5,699 started by APEH — from 10,594 in the same period a year earlier.