Hungarian socialists submit bill on making minimum wage tax-exempt

The opposition Socialist Party on Tuesday said it has submitted a bill to parliament that would make the minimum wage tax-exempt and reduce the income tax for low earners.

Under the proposal, minimum wage earners would be eligible for a tax credit equal to the 15 percent personal income tax, Imre Komjáthi, the party’s deputy leader, said on Facebook. The tax credit would decrease for each higher wage bracket up to the median monthly wage of 321,000 forints (EUR 888) before tax, he said.

The measures would help some 2.3 million people earning less than the median wage, Komjáthi said.

He said Hungary had the lowest minimum wage of the Visegrad Group countries, adding that the Hungarian minimum wage also had several taxes totalling over 30 percent levied on it.

Komjáthi said the push to make the minimum wage tax-exempt would be a key element of his party’s upcoming opposition primary campaign.