Anti-immigration tax on NGOs now in effect

The 25 pc special tax that the organisations who support migration have to pay is now in effect, as Hvg.hu writes. The new law mainly affects NGOs providing legal or other aid to refugees.

The special anti-immigration tax has been introduced in June 2018, as we reported about it. The new tax policy is part of the „Stop Soros” package that is aimed against the alleged „Soros plan”, a plan to support migration to the EU – as claimed by the Hungarian government. According to the ministry, migration causes a substantial financial burden on the Hungarian government’s budget.

Based on the new government policy, organisations that help migration should bear their share of the burden by paying the 25 pc special tax.

Several foreign papers, such as Reuters and The Guardian have reported about the new anti-immigration tax and found it unsettling, similarly to the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe who gave a detailed opinion.

On 25 August, the bill came into effect: the first tax declaration is due by 1 September, covering the period between 15-31 August.