Hungarian MP defends advertisement tax bill proposal
László L. Simon, MP of governing Fidesz, defended his advertisement tax proposal after its submission has caused roar in Hungarian media.
Simon told Kossuth Rádió that the taxes to be levied would have no effects on the viewers as the bill would only affect the tabloid television channels. He emphasized that tax costs should not be passed to the viewers. The MP said that “nobody takes it seriously” when commercial TV broadcasters threaten with cancelling their most popular shows.
He added that the advertisement tax would not generate losses for the TV companies and he considered these statements to be “nonsense”. Simon's bill would introduce a progressive tax on consolidated annual advertisement revenue of 1% between HUF 500 mln and HUF 5 bln, 10% up to HUF 10 bln, 20% up to HUF 15 bln, 30% up to HUF 20 bln and 40% over that.
Simon told Kossuth Rádió that the bill was the overture to a bigger process that could bring social media sites into the circle of taxpayers. He noted that Facebook, Youtube and Google generate significant revenue, but pay no VAT or corporate tax to the Hungarian state.
He dismissed TV2’s ideas suggesting the tax would insignificant income for the state budget. The bill is expected to be discussed in the fall.
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