In the survey of 500 small- and medium-sized enterprises that is conducted to create the index, most firms said their business positions were practically the same in June as six months earlier. Generally speaking, SMEs expect improvements in terms of taxes but said they see profits declining.

The impact of European Union development support in the new funding period has yet to be seen, noted K&H marketing department chief Viktor Zoltán Kovács.

Only 26% of SMEs said their tax burdens would grow, down from 76% five years earlier. SME heads said they expect revenues to rise an average of 5.6% and profits to climb an average of 3.6% in the coming year, according to the report.

K&H conducts the SME survey of companies based in Hungary with annual revenue of less than HUF 2 bln in cooperation with market researcher GfK Magyarország on a quarterly basis. Negative index numbers indicate a negative outlook and positive numbers indicate expectations of improved business.