Lázár defends ad tax, forsees more taxes in 2015
The advertisement tax will not just stay but will possibly grow, and new taxes will be introduced in 2015, János Lázár, head of Prime Minister’s Office said in an interview with Hungarian business daily Napi Gazdaság, today.
Reflecting on the controversial tax passed two weeks ago, Lázár said that competitiveness of the Hungarian economy can only grow if “certain expenditures” are covered by taxes.
Lázár predicted that the ad tax could grow further. He said that the income of the ad tax will be spent on the modernization of schools and added that 2015 will see new taxes in further sectors “where extra profit is made”.
Answering the daily’s question of whether the government wanted to buy RTL Klub, Hungary’s largest broadcaster, Lázár suggested that there was no need to own the broadcaster, as long as they were more sympathetic to the government. “It is not about the ownership structure, but principals and an approach,” he said.
RTL Klub is hit hardest by the tax, which they say is an attempt by the government to silence their sometimes oppositional voice. They have declared open season on the Fidesz government, airing embarrassing reports about the Prime Minister and his fellow party members.
Lázár said that the government “must not back up one inch” In the face of the channel’s attacks.
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