• Coronavirus in Hungary
  • Budapest
  • Hungary border control
  • HelloMagyar
EnglishFrenchGermanSpanish
EnglishFrenchGermanSpanish
Budapest district to tax every Budapest Airport passenger from January!Budapest district to tax every Budapest Airport passenger from January!Budapest district to tax every Budapest Airport passenger from January!Budapest district to tax every Budapest Airport passenger from January!
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Society
  • Sport
  • Culture
  • Special Hungary
  • News To Go
  • World
  • Contact Us
  • About us
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
✕
Breaking News
  • EU rapporteur: Hungarian secret services have been leaking to the Russians for years – UPDATED

Support us
John Woods John Woods · 16/12/2022
· Business

Budapest district to tax every Budapest Airport passenger from January!

Budapest Budapest Airport Local governments in Hungary tourism travel
Budapest Airport queue useful

Source: Facebook/Budapest Airport

The new tax introduced by the 18th district of Budapest will mean that everybody will have to pay more for the plane ticket since part of the price will go to the local budget. The only exemptions will be the residents of the district and those below 18. The local council says the Hungarian finance ministry gave green light on the idea, but airlines and ground handling companies are outraged. There is still a huge question mark behind the measure, but the district seems determined and would like to start taxing the airport passengers from 1 January. Below you may read the details.

The idea of the so-called “passenger tax” appeared first in end-November as a reaction to the soaring energy prices, skyrocketing inflation and other growing expenditures of the 18th district local government. Since the government keeps the local governments’ income low, they need to find new ways to provide enough money for their operation, Telex.hu wrote. The idea of the 18th district is one of a kind for sure.

The opposition-led local council already accepted the relevant decree, and one of the deputy mayors said the finance ministry gave the green light.

However, Telex said that airlines and ground handling services are critical towards the idea. If nothing changes, all passengers will have to pay more from 1 January.

Gergely Juhász, a taxation expert of PwC, told Telex that local governments received extensive rights for taxation under the Orbán cabinet. That means they can introduce so-called “local taxes” on activities happening in the district. The only condition is the obligation to avoid double taxation. As a result, some local governments wanted to tax plants growing in the fields and even transmission towers.

  • Read also: Scandalous! Ryanair left many Hungarians in London without food, help, and accommodation

The most problematic issue with the 18th district’s new tax idea is double taxation since every passenger pays the so-called excess profits tax (departure tax) introduced by the government. There are no exemptions in that respect.

Celebi, a ground handling service provider being a market leader at Budapest Airport, said it is unrealistic for them to collect the tax for the local government. They said they were not in contact with the passengers arriving except for lost baggage. “We would not like to collect money”, they highlighted.

Budapest Airport turned to the government office. They said such a tax would have affect the traffic and tourism sector considerably. Moreover, uncertainties around the new decree could result in flight cancellations, they said.

  • Read also: Another airline seems to leave Budapest

They argued the decree would result in the double taxation of the passengers. Furthermore, collecting the new tax would be impossible in case of an online check-in or an arriving passenger, for example. Wizz Air said the same, adding the new tax would only create additional obstacles and hinder the strengthening of the sector. They highlighted they would do everything to kill the implementation of the decree.

Others said local governments need to try everything to increase their income. The worst-case scenario is that they would need to withdraw the measure.

Source: telex.hu

Budapest Budapest Airport Local governments in Hungary tourism travel
Share
John Woods
John Woods

1 Comment

  1. Ungaro says:
    17/12/2022 at 07:09

    Additional taxes (if any) should only be levied on concessions operating at BUD (“Duty Free”, Burger King, etc.) instead of burdening every passenger setting foot there. The collection of taxes are already in place at these establishments, there would be no need to implement tax collection at ground service providers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

SUPPORT US

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to receive daily updates, news & stories about Hungary!

Select your location below or enter your country so we can deliver our morning newsletters to you in time.


Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.


.

Latest news
  • PHOTOS: Hungary team rescues 12 from beneath Türkiye earthquake rubble, Wizz Air brings help – UPDATED
  • Polish official: despite disagreements, Polish-Hungarian cooperation is important
  • Central and Eastern Europe’s largest virtual film studio to be built in Hungary
  • Hungarian scholar won EUR 2m for groundbreaking research
  • PHOTOS, VIDEO: pro-Russia demonstration held in Budapest with a surprising participant
  • What happened today in Hungary? 7 February, 2023
  • PHOTOS: Hungarians saving many lives in Türkiye
  • EU rapporteur: Hungarian secret services have been leaking to the Russians for years – UPDATED

About us

Contact us

Copyright rules

© 2023 DailyNewsHungary. All rights reserved! | Server and development by Svigelj Levente E.V