Incoming economy minister Kapitány promises transparent budget to restore confidence in Hungary

The incoming government will break with irresponsible, opaque budgets and restore market confidence, incoming Economic and Energy Minister István Kapitány wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

Kapitány said Hungary’s budgetary room for manoeuvre was now severely constrained. “The public debt is rising year on year, while the country spends 4% of its annual GDP on interest payments – one of the highest rates in the EU,” he noted, adding that responsible fiscal management required transparent state operations and public funds serving the common good.

According to his post, under the Tisza government led by the incoming finance minister, András Kármán, a stable and predictable budgetary policy would be established. “By eliminating wasteful, overpriced investments, curbing corruption, and improving the efficiency of state operations, we will free up significant resources for national development,” he wrote.

“We are breaking with irresponsible, opaque budgets and restoring market confidence,” Kapitány reiterated, adding: “By reducing interest rates to regional levels, we could save up to trillions of forints annually.” He also highlighted that responsible budgetary management and parallel economic growth would put the public debt on a declining path relative to GDP.

A stable budget provides the foundation for economic growth, business development, and predictable state operations, Kapitány said. “When the state manages finances responsibly, it strengthens confidence in the economy and enhances Hungary’s long-term financial stability,” he added.

Kapitány: PIT on minimum wage to be 9%

The personal income tax rate on the minimum wage will be cut to 9%, Kapitány said on Facebook on Wednesday. Kapitány said the Tisza Party’s key goals included credible, predictable economic policies to curb inflation and create a fairer tax system.

“One of the first steps is cutting the personal income tax on the minimum wage to 9%, leaving over HUF 240,000 (EUR 661) more a year in the pockets of lower earners,” he said. “Everyone earning below the median wage – currently around a gross HUF 625,000 a month – will also pay less income tax,” Kapitány said.

“For example, someone making gross HUF 420,000 will keep an extra HUF 180,000 a year, someone on HUF 500,000 will keep around HUF 120,000 more, and someone on HUF 625,000 will keep an extra HUF 60,000.”

Kapitány: Tisza govt to boost economic productivity, efficiency of SME sector

The Tisza government is committed to improving the business environment for enterprises; it will increase economic productivity and the efficiency of the domestic SME sector through a comprehensive series of measures, Kapitány said on Tuesday.

Kapitány said on Facebook that the key to a truly competitive economy lay not in assembly plants attracted by billions in state funds, but in strong, competitive and export-capable domestically owned SMEs.

Hungarian SMEs had so far faced serious challenges on multiple fronts, losing out in price competition due to inflation, while their access to external financing had been insufficient, he added.

Uncertainty had been further exacerbated by high energy prices paid by corporate consumers, a weak forint and an unpredictable regulatory environment, he said.

The “misguided economic policies of recent years” had tended to “funnel state and EU funds to companies affiliated with the system of national cooperation that are uncompetitive on a market basis”, he added.

Kapitány said it was understandable that the lag in Hungarian SME productivity had become entrenched, which in turn had put Hungarian entrepreneurs and employees in a difficult position.

In line with a European Commission report, in 2024 the value-added of the Hungarian SME sector declined by one of the largest margins in Europe, while Poland and Bulgaria recorded significant growth, he said.

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Featured image: Facebook/Kapitány István