Excise tax and VAT rises ?to boost fuel prices in Hungary?
Thursday May 21, 2009
The Hungarian government’s planned combination of excise tax hikes and VAT increases will see significant price rises on products such as fuel, cigarettes and alcoholic beverages, according to reports.
Under the plans excise tax content on diesel fuel would rise by 7.6 per cent and by ten per cent for petrol from January 1st 2010.
The minimum tax on cigarettes will rise by 8.3 per cent and the tax on alcoholic drinks will leap by ten per cent.
As the government has already announced plans to increase the regular VAT rate to 25 per cent from 20 per cent, this two-step hike could see the price of gas boosted by HUF 25 (0.8p) a litre, reports the Portfolio news provider.
Details of excise tax increases were announced as part of the government’s tax change regime for 2010, which is expected to be finalised today.
The VAT hike was announced earlier this month and will take place from the start of July.
However, the rate will remain the same on certain products, such as heating and basic food bills, which will retain VAT of 18 per cent.