The reduction in the payroll tax from 15.5% to 11.5% would save businesses some HUF 500 billion, Bodó said.
A six-year agreement with employers and unions coupling minimum wage rises with payroll tax cuts is set to expire in 2022. Under that agreement, the minimum wage for unskilled workers rose from a gross monthly HUF 111,000 in 2016 to HUF 167,400 from February of this year. During the same period, the minimum wage for skilled laborers climbed from HUF 129,000 to HUF 219,000.
Meanwhile, the payroll tax rate was cut from 27% to 15.5%.
The minimum wage agreement has supported marked headline wage growth in Hungary.
The government earlier announced its intention to raise the minimum wage for unskilled workers to HUF 200,000 a month from the start of next year, but acknowledged a tax cut would be necessary to counter the negative impact on businesses.
A 0.5 percentage point reduction in the payroll tax together with the elimination of the 1.5pc training contribution had been planned for next year.
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For over 30 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
