Hungary contemplates new measures to combat black economy

Several measures designed to combat the black economy are waiting to be introduced, for example those aiming to increase the number of POS terminals, reduce tax administration and improve the financial knowledge of Hungarians, Minister of State for Financial Affairs Ágnes Hornung said on public news channel M1.

The Minister of State noted that too much cash is circulating in the economy, due partly to the low number of sales points where bank cards are accepted and the insufficient financial literacy of Hungarians.

According to an estimate by the National Bank of Hungary, the production and handling of cash costs HUF 500bn for the country.

Provided the frequency of using cash-free methods, such as bank card payment, was brought to a European level, the costs associated with the handling of cash could be cut by HUF 150bn per year.

To this end, the Government has decided to boost the number of POS terminals.

As Ágnes Hornung stressed, studies show that the time Hungarians devote to taxation-relation work is quite long from a European and global perspective. To remedy this, personal income tax forms of private persons are set to be filled out by the Hungarian Tax and Customs Administration as of 2017, and conditions of the so-called KATA and KIVA taxes will be eased and simplified.

Source: Ministry for National Economy