The tax would be based on net revenue and set at 0.2% for HUF 30 mln to HUF 30 bln, at 2.5% for HUF 30 bln to HUF 60 bln, and at 4.5% for anything higher. The proceeds from the tax would be earmarked exclusively for financing state-funded healthcare.

The tax aims to create a “fair(er) sharing of the public burden” and to finance the restructuring of the healthcare system, according to its author, MP Kristóf Szatmáry. Because it is a one-off tax, “tobacco industry companies will, in reality, bear the brunt of the burden, and market players will not pass on the burden to consumers”, according to the bill’s justification.