Hungarian, Swiss finance ministers concerned by min corp tax rate within EU

Photo: Mihály Varga Official Facebook page

Finance Minister Mihály Varga met his Swiss counterpart Ueli Maurer, the Finance Ministry has said.

Hungary and Switzerland are in agreement that the introduction of a global minimum corporate tax rate would hold back innovation and economic growth, that the planned minimum rate of 15 percent is too high, and that real economic activities should not be burdened, Varga said after the meeting held on Friday.

Hungary and Switzerland are both committed to tax sovereignty and fair tax competition and share views on a number of points concerning the OECD’s proposed minimum corporate tax rate, he added.

Hungary is prepared to participate in international negotiations on the global minimum corporate tax rate, with the aim of getting as many member states to support the preservation of tax competition, he said.

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Varga noted that the finance ministers of the Visegrád Group – Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia – had coordinated their stands on the matter at talks on Tuesday and would voice it at OECD and European Union forums.

Removing taxation from the competition among national economies “is a mistake”, he said, adding that Hungary’s 9 percent corporate tax rate supports real, productive investments. Increasing that rate would negatively impact “several thousand” Hungarian companies and cause the loss of jobs, he added.

“The Hungarian government’s crisis management measures are founded on preserving workplaces, incentivising investments and reducing taxes; we do not support tax increases in any forum,” Varga said.