“Compared to the last day of Parliament, today minimum wages are much higher, corporation taxes have fallen significantly, family tax benefits have increased and VAT on internet access has been reduced”, the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister’s Parliamentary State Secretary, Csaba Dömötör said at a press conference in Budapest on Saturday.
“Despite going against the mainstream, the Hungarian economic model has proven that it works, because it was economic growth that enabled the tax cuts, the sectoral pay increases, which will be continuing this year, and the increase in family home creation subsidies", Mr. Dömötör said.
Among recent achievements, the politician highlighted the fact that unemployment is at the lowest level in 27 years, having fallen from 12 percent to under 5 percent. He also stressed that the minimum wage was raised by 15 percent from January, while the minimum wage for skilled workers was increased by 25 percent, and these will continue to increase next year by 8 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Furthermore, corporation tax has been reduced to a flat rate of 9 percent, making it the lowest in Europe, in addition to which family tax benefits have also increased: 211 billion forints (EUR 680M) are available for home creation subsidies this year. In the meantime, the level of VAT on the most important foodstuffs and the internet have also fallen substantially”, he added.
With regard to Government plans for the upcoming session of Parliament, which begins next Tuesday, Mr. Dömötör said that sectoral wage increase programmes would continue in 2017: the teachers’ career model is entering its fifth year, law enforcement employees will also be receiving continued pay increases; medical specialists will be receiving a pay increase of 207 thousand forints and nurses will see their salaries rise by 65 percent, both in multiple stages. Within the past few days we have also succeeded in coming to an agreement on the fact that the employees of large, state-owned companies will also be receiving a 30 percent pay rise by 2019, he added.
“During the upcoming period the Government would like to consolidate these achievements and to facilitate additional pay increases via further tax cuts”, he announced.
“In addition, Hungary must make a firm stand in defence of national interests, including on energy regulation, migration, the transparency of ‘agent organisations’ and within the fields of tax and employment policy”, he said. These topics are expected to feature heavily on Parliament’s agenda. With respect to these important issues, everyone is justified in expecting the opposition parties to stand up for national interests, but the “endless bickering for scraps and positions has begun once again” on the left, while Jobbik “is still willing to do anything to gain power”, he declared.
In reply to a question concerning the Olympics referendum, the Parliamentary State Secretary said “The law is clear: if a sufficient number of signatures have been collected then a local referendum will be announced”. With relation to the fact that the “Momentum Movement” submitted a petition with 266 thousand signatures not supporting the holding of the Budapest Olympics to the capital’s Municipal Election Commission on Friday, he said: “The Government will have to review the situation, but as the submitter of the Olympic bid, the Municipality of Budapest will have to assess its application and decide on it”. “The Municipal Assembly will be putting the issue on its agenda next week”, he added.
Mr. Dömötör explained that in view of the fact that when the bid was submitted a consensus was achieved on its funding, the left wing parties will have to answer for overturning that agreement. “Although the signatures were primarily collected by the Momentum Movement, the left made a 180 degree U-turn on the issue, meaning it backed the initiative to hold a referendum, and this was the most important circumstance in the case”, he declared.
The politician was also asked with regard to the fact that the National Food Chain Safety Office (NÉBIH) has found several food products with regard to which those sold in Austria were of a different quality to the ones marketed in Hungary. Mr. Dömötör stressed: “We are not second rate Europeans and it would not be good if we were to receive second rate foods”. “It would be good to receive a reassuring and honest reply from these companies with regard to the question of how it is possible that the products they marketed in Hungary contained fewer nutrients”, he said. “I am unwilling to accept the reply that it is because this is how the Hungarians like it”, he added.
According to the Parliamentary State Secretary, the Government must also investigate whether the companies involved have broken the law, in addition to which he said that the setting up of a Parliamentary Board of Inquiry also warranted support.
(kormany.hu)
