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Hungarian SZÉP Cards to be Used to Buy Food

• 28 Dec 2021 6:31 AM
• Hungary Around the Clock

The hotels and restaurants association Mszész expressed dismay about the government decree published on Friday, according to which the SZÉP card, invented to boost domestic tourism, can be used to buy food in shops between February 1 and May 31, 2022.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced the change in a Facebook post on December 23.

Mszész president Csaba Baldauf told website Turizmus.com that the announcement came as a complete surprise to the industry.

He said that the tax relief attached to the SZÉP card last year contributed greatly to boosting domestic demand in 2020 and 2021, as well as to the survival of rural, often family-run accommodation and restaurants that have been hit hard by the epidemic.

Baldauf had expected 2022 to be a year of recovery, so he is concerned that people will prefer to spend their SZÉP card benefits on food under the new regulation.

At the same time, Mszész would maintain the preferential tax conditions for SZÉP cards next year, and is asking for an exemption from paying the tourism development levy until July 30, 2022.

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