Antal Rogán, Head of the Cabinet of the Prime Minister, has said that the draft budget for 2017 proposes radical reductions in value added tax on the most important foodstuffs, and the further increase of tax allowances for families with two children.
On Sunday the Head of the Cabinet of the Prime Minister told public broadcaster Kossuth Rádió that reducing VAT on milk, eggs and poultry will contribute to preserving the value of pensions, because pensioners consume the highest proportions of the most important foodstuffs. He added that the results of the VAT cut on pork have been positive, as consumer prices have fallen.
The Government’s housing measures will be fully realised in 2017. The Cabinet plans to allocate HUF 100 billion to significantly increase housing subsidies, VAT cuts, housing allowances for families and subsidised loans. The National Housing Community will also be launched, which will provide further funding of HUF 3 million per residence, Mr. Rogán explained.
Mr. Rogán pointed out that the Government also plans to allocate HUF 100 billion for health care and HUF 100 billion for schools education. In the latter field, pay rises for teachers will continue, and problems related to the Klebelsberg Institution Maintenance Centre (KLIK) will be permanently solved. The Government is currently conducting negotiations with representative organisations on a permanent pay-rise programme for the 2017–2019 period, he said, adding that if the 2016 budget shows good results, part of this programme could be implemented this year. The Cabinet will discuss this option over the next two weeks, Mr. Rogán noted.
The Minister said that Brussels’ proposal on renewing European migration policy is extremely dangerous because, instead of reducing migration pressure, it aims to legalise migration; furthermore, it would also rob nation states of the competency to handle migration. If Brussels were to use mandatory quotas to decide on the people to be resettled and distributed among the Member States, it would make migration to Europe a permanent phenomenon. Hungary regards this as an issue of sovereignty, therefore the Government has proposed a referendum on the subject, Mr. Rogán explained.
He said that the Government would like to establish a joint position with the Visegrád countries (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ten-point action plan on renewing the Schengen Agreement; this could be jointly represented by these countries. A meeting in this regard is expected for the beginning of next week, Mr. Rogán added.
The proposal includes stronger border protection and differentiation between economic migrants and refugees entitled to protection. It would also allow Member States to solve their economic and demographic problems through migration – but migration must not be forced on anybody, the Minister explained,
Regarding repeal of the legislation on Sunday as a day of rest, Mr. Rogán said that the measure had achieved the economic objectives set at the time of its introduction one year ago: trade volume and employment in the retail sector had increased. But the measure was not successful in diverting consumers from multinational companies to smaller shops, and people did not accept the decision. This is why the Government has decided to repeal the legislation, the Minister said.
(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)
