Hungarian Multinationals Welcome EU Tax Decision
Much to the relief of multinational firms such as General Electric, Sony, and
Volkswagon, the European Union last week accepted Hungary's position on tax
breaks for foreign investors. The dispute over the tax concessions had been delaying the closure of the negotiating
chapter on competition policy, one of the most sensitive parts of the EU rule
book. However, speaking on Friday, Foreign Minister, Laszlo Kovacs announced
that Hungary will shift to EU rules with regard to the tax holidays from January
1, 2003, rather than retroactively to January 1, 2001 as the European Commission
had initially demanded. According to the Budapest Business Journal, several of the country's multinational
investors lobbied hard for the tax breaks to be allowed to run their natural
course, warning that their premature removal could lead to an exodus of businesses
from the country, with dire consequences for employment. .
|
|
IMPORTANT NOTICE: TAX-NEWS.COM has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments. All materials on this site copyright TAX-NEWS.COM 1999 to 2007. Contact us for further information.