Hungary rejects plans to introduce global minimum tax

Hungary will reject the introduction of a global minimum tax since such a measure would entail tax increases in the country, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, told MTI, after a meeting with Mathias Cormann, the incoming secretary-general of the OECD, in Paris on Tuesday.

“It has become clear over the past decade that raising taxes is a dead-end-street,” Szijjártó said, adding that “the most effective incentives for creating jobs and triggering economic growth are tax cuts”.

“Nobody has the right to intervene from abroad in Hungary’s tax policies,” Szijjártó said, insisting that defining tax brackets should remain Hungary’s sovereign right.

At the same time, he supported initiatives aimed at settling the issue of how tech giants should be taxed, arguing that these companies ought to pay taxes where they operate.

Szijjártó said it was also clear that Hungary had introduced the most successful economic response measures against the crisis caused by the pandemic, adding that it was beyond doubt that the correct economic policy was focused on tax cuts, supporting investments and saving jobs.

“All over the world, we’re seeing the pursuit of policies that are making it harder to reboot the global economy, such as the ones in favour of introducing a global minimum tax,” the minister said.

He said the concept of a global minimum tax went against the principles of the market economy and was designed to benefit countries that had not had the fiscal discipline needed to introduce low tax rates.

Szijjártó said one of the keys to Hungary’s competitiveness was that it the lowest payroll and corporate tax rates in Europe. Fiscal discipline was an important prerequisite for this, he said, adding that countries that had been less disciplined had been unable to cut taxes.

Hungary continues to favour “work over welfare”, he said, adding that the government intended to continue cutting taxes. “We won’t accept any form of international pressure or regulation that would lead to tax increases in Hungary,” he said.

At the same time, Szijjártó said it was important to find a solution regarding the taxation of tech giants, adding that they should pay their taxes in the countries they operate in.

“We shouldn’t allow tech giants to enjoy an unfair competitive advantage in the absence of international tax regulation!” he said, attributing to the OECD a key role in settling the matter in a satisfactory manner.

Szijjártó said Mathias Cormann applied a “pragmatic and sensible approach” to the matter and did not allow ideological debates to influence economic policy matters.

Szijjártó was the first official Cormann received since his election as the next OECD chief.

Read alsoHungarians under 25 will not have to pay income tax!

Source: MTI

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6 Comments

OBSERVER says:

19/05/2021 at 06:28

Far be it from me to GLOAT but Hungary has proven itself many times over.
Perhaps the EU could take an example instead of constantly trying to ENSLAVE and force it to COMPLY
with THEIR “TERMINAL” IDEAS.
Anonymous says:

19/05/2021 at 06:52

The Republic of Ireland is not too chuffed at the notion of a global Corporation Tax rate either – let us be clear that Corporation Tax is what is being discussed so Szijjárto’s waffling on about other taxes is pointless because they are not under discussion.
AlfredE.Neuman says:

19/05/2021 at 11:21

The notion of a so-called ‘global Corporation Tax’ is being advanced by the U.S. with support from its pet poodle Australia and those omnipresent fools in Brussels.

In reality, the ‘rate’ for such a tax will be determined by certain ‘more important’ countries TO THEIR BENEFIT whilst other sovereign nations like Hungary are expected to behave and ‘toe the line’.

It’s FANTASTIC that Hungary has recently told the E.U. where to ‘stick it’ in relation to certain foreign policy matters (involving China, Israel, Russia) and the same situation must apply to CORPORATE / PERSONAL TAXATION – which is determined within this country by HUNGARY , not a bunch of left-wing, Marxist / Socialist, mentally deficient, sexual deviant- / migrant- worshipping HALF-WITS in Brussels who are continually HUNGRY for ever more cash to fund their insane ideas.

Let those European countries which TRULY WANT to be overwhelmed by ILLEGAL MUSLIM MIGRANTS pay for such pleasures instead of continually ‘holding out the begging bowls’.

As to the current ‘push’ for so-called ‘rights’ of LGBTQWXYZs, if such ‘people’ don’t like where they live, then relocate within the E.U. to those countries which ‘welcome’ them – after all, ‘FREE MOVEMENT’ within the E.U. is allowed even for sexual deviants.

Enough of this utter nonsense where ordinary E.U. citizens are expected to keep paying for all the E.U. COMMISSION / PARLIAMENT ‘social directives’ which are nothing more than swine excrement
(in spite of what ‘MARIO THE CAVEMAN’ and ‘ANONYMOUS ANEMONE’ might believe).
Háziorvos says:

19/05/2021 at 14:01

Neuman, you make even yourself look more stupid by the day. A remarkable achievement given how stupid you started out being. Perhaps you have a brain tumour?
NotMario says:

19/05/2021 at 15:38

“The doctor is out ” – of his mind.

What Alfred writes makes perfect sense – except to left-wing trolls like “Háziorvos” (who is as much a DOCTOR as I am the Prime Minister of Hungary).
Háziorvos says:

20/05/2021 at 07:33

NotMario – the discussion is about Corporate Income Tax, finding a way to make global companies pay tax in the jurisdictions within which their profits are made rather than the current ‘shape shifting’ methods they use to avoid the bulk of tax. The obvious big players are Amazon, Apple, Google, Starbucks etc, all household names, but there are many more. Ironically, despite having the lowest rate of Corporation Tax, Hungary is not really a beneficiary of these tax avoidance methods, whereas the ROI, Luxembourg and Holland are. So Neuman’s usual childish and offensive rant about migrants, political leanings and personal sexual orientation are totally irrelevant to the issue that the article was about. Neuman is like a stuck record, a man of limited intellect who never fails to broadcast his stupidity in these august web pages, behaving like the evil pantomime Dame that children so love to laugh at at Christmas Pantomimes. With regard to what I do for a living, whether I am a GP or a retired GP, it is none of your business so keep your snout out.