Opposition initiates 90 pc tax on ‘off-shore’ residency bond sellers

The opposition Párbeszéd party will initiate levying a 90 percent special tax on revenues generated by “off-shore” companies on the sales of the government’s residency bonds, the party’s spokesman said on Saturday.

The five agents licensed to sell residency bonds under the government’s scheme have “robbed the state” of 17.5 billion forints (EUR 53.8m) they had generated in unpaid taxes on their off-shore businesses, Richárd Barabás told a press conference, adding that those involved in these businesses should be identified and brought to justice.

Under the scheme running from the summer of 2013 until March 2017, foreign nationals who bought securities from a licensed agent backed by the residency bonds could apply in an accelerated procedure for permanent residency in Hungary. The threshold for the residency bond purchase was set at 250,000 euros early in the scheme and raised to 300,000 euros later on.