Hungarian government introduces new law for companies with foreign workers

Under the Hungarian government’s proposed law, digital companies employing foreign workers could be granted a special status. The aim is to lure IT workers to Hungary; however, experts say the opposite could happen.

New Hungarian bill

According to the new bill proposed by the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister, led by Antal Rogán, digital companies that employ more than 60 percent of foreigners from outside Europe would be granted special status in some areas of activity.

The ministry’s aim is to make Hungary more attractive in another sector, after the battery industry. In particular, companies that base their businesses on workers from outside Europe would be targeted. The Cabinet Office’s bill proposes a preferential tax regime for companies and their workers.

Under the draft legislation, these companies would be exempt from paying public charges and local business tax. The new system devised by the Rogán ministry would only be open to companies with a majority of workers from third-world countries, 24.hu reports.

The Prime Minister’s Office posted the text of the proposal on the government website in December 2023. It is not yet known when the government will decide. “The digital company form will help to expand employment in the high-tech field by leaps and bounds, as well as to create more attractive domestic conditions for Hungarian professionals working abroad in the high-tech field and to improve the competitive situation by enabling highly qualified foreign professionals to be employed in Hungary.”

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Not everyone likes it

The concept of a digital company would be created by law, if adopted. Private limited companies or public limited companies with a capital of at least HUF 20 million that enter into a contract with the competent authority could become a digital company. The law also specifies the main forms of activity.

As mentioned above, the main aim is to attract programmers and IT specialists to Hungary, as there is a shortage of them.

However, experts believe that it is the companies that employ cheap guest workers that stand to benefit. There are many activities that do not require programmers, but assembly and manufacturing, for which unskilled, cheap labour is suitable.

This is controversial, as the Hungarian government has just taken action to protect Hungarian jobs, following reports that several manufacturing companies are moving into Hungary and are laying off Hungarian workers while employing workers from the Far East.

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4 Comments

Jose Hernandez says:

30/01/2024 at 18:58

Looks like tje government is facing the reality after all the “anti-migration” approach they have previously take . I dont want to repeat my self again and again, but these government is a joke. They are contradicting them self again and again. It doesn’t matter how populist they want to behave, they just want the votes of the brainwashed people that support them. They just care themselves and their wallets are first
Michael Steiner says:

31/01/2024 at 07:10

Jose Hernandez’s comment is a typical Leftist straw man. The government is not and never has been “anti-migration.” It is anti-ILLEGAL migration. That is a massive, very clear, and eminently easy-to-understand difference, so any conflation of the two is deliberate. The anti-illegal migration position and policies are wildly popular because the people of Hungary do not want the worst-quality, unproductive, uneducated illegal aliens swarming in and turning their towns and cities into filthy, violent cesspits, all while causing the level of public services to plummet due to the strain these fighting-age men who have zero intention to integrate put on those services. As far as this law, what I find preposterous is that there should ever be companies whose employees are 60%+ foreign!
Jose Hernandez says:

31/01/2024 at 11:24

Mr Steiner. You dont even know me to assume i am left or right wing. Take a look how many times Orban has said, “no migration” “Hungarian jobs for Hungarian citizens” etc etc. it is very well documented. Or does this mean orban now is moving to the left wing? I dont think so. My point is very clear. Fidesz and orban has been playing with their supporters. And yes i agree with your point about companies having more than 60% is ridiculous, but i will tell you one case where that scenario is real, the so called “call service centers” have a lot of foreign workers, you know why? Because they need french, italians, arabics, russian, Spanish speakers. If you think that the Hungarian labor force has all these workers, go ahead with those companies and provide them with the contacts as they will be happy to hire them. You need to face the reality, family programs have been in place for more than 10 years and it is not working. The Hungarian population is declining every year. Welcome to the new century
Géza Hegedűs says:

07/02/2024 at 12:12

“The new system devised by the Rogán ministry would only be open to companies with a majority of workers from third-world countries”. Many already knew Orbán and his gang follow the same globalist agenda, but now it becomes more visible. The active import of migrants from the Third World started!

Hungarians have to wake up for reality and get rid of these traitors.