Organisations supporting migration to pay 25 pc immigration tax

The tax bill to be submitted to parliament later on Tuesday contains a 25 percent immigration tax to be paid by organisations supporting migration, the finance ministry said on Tuesday.

The government seeks to employ all possible methods to protect the country from illegal migration, the ministry said in a statement. Tax policy measures are a part of the effort besides the border fence, new border protection laws and the “Stop Soros” package of bills, the statement said.

Protection against illegal migration is a substantial burden on the Hungarian budget and therefore to Hungarian citizens, the ministry said.

The government proposes that, according to the principle of equal taxation, organisations helping migration should bear their share of that burden by paying a 25 percent special tax, it said.

The finance ministry will submit its proposal for 2019 tax changes later on Tuesday, Mihály Varga, the finance minister, said. Varga said that the package “contains the most changes of all times aimed at simplifying taxation”.