“Hungary is the EU’s most rapidly developing country”, Minister of Finance Mihály Varga declared in an interview for Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet. In the interview, which was published in Monday’s edition of the paper, Mr. Varga said the government has already begun drawing up the second Economy Protection Action Plan, and a decision on the new measures is expected during the first half of next year.

The Minister said the Cabinet has not cast aside plans to introduce single-digit personal income tax, and the 700-800 billion forint (EUR 2-2.4 billion) tax cut, bearing in mind the room for manoeuvre available to the budget, could be placed on the agenda as early as 2021.

“In recent years we have got used to the fact that that some are rooting for us to fail, but the development of economic processes is not determined by wishes”, he said.

“Hungary’s 5 percent growth achieved in the third quarter of this year means Hungary’s economy has grown to the greatest extent within the European Union, meaning any statement that calls the government’s economic policy a failure cannot be regarded as being objective”, the Minister declared.

Mr. Varga said it was most welcome that suitably applied European Union funding has played a tangible role in the development of the Hungarian economy. “There were periods when only around 10 percent of the monies arriving from the EU actually made their way into the Hungarian economy. We have changed this ratio, however, and have decided to spend 60 percent of EU funding on the development of the economy. This has proven to be a correct decision”, the Minister said.

On the subject of German-Hungarian relations, the Minister said that in his opinion relations are good and there are no interruptions.

“Many of the measures of the first Economy Protection Action Plan have already been realised, and the remainder will be introduced on 1 January. Meanwhile, the Cabinet has also begun the drawing up of the second Economy Protection Action Plan, and the work is occurring with the involvement of several ministries”, Mr. Varga said.

The Minister also spoke about the fact that the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is experiencing the fact that certain groups of businesses are abusing the itemized tax for small businesses (KATA) by employing staff as entrepreneurs rather than as employees. “The Chamber has submitted a complex proposal to the Ministry of Finance with relation to the issue. We are reviewing the Chamber’s points and will be holding talks with other chambers and professional organisations”, the Minister stated. The possible amendment of the regulations could take place next year, the article states.

The full interview is available here in Hungarian.

(MTI)