Government measures seeking to simplify the red tape for business ventures have helped entrepreneurs save a total of 100 billion forints so far, representatives of the Economy Ministry said at a workshop on Tuesday. Speakers in the Simpler State Workshop organised by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Budapest, said the 29 measures taken since last November together with further planned moves could result in total savings of 250 billion forints by the end of this year.
The eventual objective of the programme is to reduce administrative expenses by 500 billion forints in 10 key areas.
State Secretary Kristof Szatmar said that cutting red tape and saving related costs will significantly improve Hungary’s competitiveness, and invited entrepreneurs’ ideas for further opportunities to make the system simpler.
Deputy state secretary of the ministry Laszlo Turoczy noted that the administrative burden on Hungary’s ventures was exceedingly high – over 10 percent of GDP – as opposed to 3-5 percent in other European countries.
Key components of the government programme include reducing the period for authorities to deal with applications from 30 days to 21, simplifying excise tax and bidding procedures, as well as more careful consideration of planned government measures in terms of their impact on the administration of businesses.
