Orbán announces measures to safeguard economy from COVID-19
The Hungarian government decided to implement a range of economic measures in order to ameliorate the negative effects of the coronavirus outbreak, with a special focus on vulnerable sectors such as tourism, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on Facebook today.
Viktor Orbán announcing the lastest economic measures. (Photo: Facebook)
Orbán noted that these are only the first measures, with more decisions expected in the upcoming days.
Some of the decisions are in line with the instructions released by the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) today.
A repayment moratorium until the end of the year will be introduced for all loans taken out by individuals and companies until today.
The maturities of short-term business loans will be extended until June 30.
Starting tomorrow, the maximum APR for consumer loans will be determined at a level no higher than five percentage points over the MNB base rate (0.9%).
The Prime Minister named the tourism, hospitality, sports, culture, and passenger transportation industries are particularly vulnerable to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In these industries, employer contributions will be entirely done away with, and the tax burden of employees will be significantly lowered. Pension contributions will be abolished, and health insurance contributions will be decreased to the minimum level determined by the law until June 30.
Taxi drivers using the fixed-rate KATA (small taxpayersʼ itemized lump-sum tax) system will be exempted from paying their flat fees until June 30.
In the industries named above, terminating property lease agreements will be forbidden, and increasing rental costs will also be banned.
Tourism development contributions will be suspended until June 30, he added.
Orbán also said that the government will make employment regulations more flexible, in order to facilitate future agreements between employers and employees.
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