Protestors against small business tax changes block bridge in capital

City

Protesters blocked traffic on Elizabeth Bridge yesterday evening.

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Demonstrators protesting a decision by lawmakers to restrict the Itemised Tax for Small Businesses (KATA) to sole proprietors blocked Elizabeth Bridge, in the center of the capital, to traffic late Thursday, according to a report by state news wire MTI.

Several hundred people joined the demonstration organized by the Two-Tailed Dog Party, a joke political party with a satirical platform.

Police redirected traffic during the demonstration which started at 5:30 in the evening.

Péter Marki-Zay, the candidate for prime minister backed by opposition parties in Hungary's general election in the spring, addressed the protestors, telling them that the government needed about 100 days to "prove all of their campaign promises were lies".

MPs approved the changes to KATA in an expedited procedure on Tuesday. Protestors had blocked traffic on two bridges spanning the Danube in the capital ahead of the vote.

The government reasoned that the tax measure was necessary to crack down on abuse, pointing to Finance Ministry data that show two-thirds of registered KATA taxpayers are in practice employed by a single company, defeating the original purpose of the tax: to provide an alternative tax form to sole proprietors.

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