The loans come with twenty years maturity with interest set at 1.95% in the first ten years under the arrangements of the central bank’s lending for growth scheme. The minimum loan available is 3 million forints and the maximum 300 million forints, he added.

The government is also planning comprehensive reform of tax administration, Lázár said, adding that a proposal on the structural transformation of the tax authority will be submitted to parliament soon. Also in the pipeline are tax changes coming into effect in 2017-2018.

In order to boost competitiveness, it is necessary to introduce a serviceoriented tax system which views taxpayers as partners rather than as enemies, he said. Starting on January 1, 2016, public administration duties can be processed online, which will signify a breakthrough.

Lázár said one major change will be that the tax authority will be expected to prepare tax returns, and this applies to returns for this year, too. Planned changes to local taxes and vehicle acquisition fees will affect freight forwarders favourably and the government has decided to make hybrid and electric cars exempt from registration taxes and fees, vehicle tax and corporate tax.

He said the introduction of the e-card will represent a breakthrough in public administration, and around 200,000 of such cards are planned to be issued annually.

The government plans to divide the country’s central region, since separating less developed Pest County from Budapest would make the former eligible for EU support, he said.

The region which now contains Budapest and Pest County is above the EU average in terms of development, he noted. A decision on the matter will be made in the first half of 2016 at the latest and the separation could take effect in 2018.

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MTI photo: Soós Lajos