“The Hungarian government has signalled in the course of reviews that it is prepared to weigh changes to the concept of the ad tax.

The final decision must be taken by parliament based on the stand of the economy committee,” the cabinet office said. It noted that two EU procedures had been launched against Hungary since the introduction of the tax, “as the result of a dispute between the government and the Bertelsmann group”.

Lázár said earlier in February that he had been given a mandate by the prime minister and governing Fidesz’s parliamentary group to negotiate with parties that must pay the ad tax, including Germany’s Bertelsmann group, which owns television broadcaster RTL Klub, to avoid an infringement procedure by the European Commission.

RTL Group has complained that its local business is the only one in the top bracket of the progressive tax, which puts it in a “structurally loss-making position”. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the head of the Bertelsmann group were set to discuss proposals on Hungary’s advertising tax on Feb. 24, Lázár said earlier.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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