Hungary’s main opposition party Fidesz plans to reduce the tax burden of businesses to the level of other countries of the region within four years, and to cut taxes paid by individuals to the level of regional peers in six years, Fidesz head Viktor Orban said on Monday. Fidesz is generally seen to win the April general elections.
Adressing a conference held by the National Association of Entrepreneurs (VOSZ), Mr Orban said that he would not take a commitment on a euro accession date. Hungary will join the eurozone when conditions to do so were realistic, he said.
By 2012 the proportion of majority-Hungarian-owned companies winning public procurement tenders will reach the respective share of domestic winners in France or Germany, Mr Orban said.
He promised to launch capital and interest support programmes to SMEs and increase their share in EU funding to 50pc.
The Fidesz chairman also confirmed his party’s commitment to create one million jobs in ten years.
On the subject of inheritance tax, he said “there is no room for the state” in the case of direct family inheritance, he said.
He said his party has decided to set up an “economic fact finding committee”, headed by former Finance Minister Mihaly Varga, which will perform a full screening of the entire economy. The screening is necessary because “the government has gotten into the habit of hiding or falsifying budget figures,” Mr Orban said.
Government Spokesman Domokos Szollar said that Fidesz was “trying to force an open gate” as budget figures and the data pertaining to the economic situation are available to all democratic parties participating in the elections.
The tax reduction plans announced by Mr Orban could result in HUF 1,000bn to HUF 3-4,000bn in lost budget revenue, depending which country’s tax level is the target, tax experts told the Tuesday edition of daily Nepszabadsag.