During the debate in the European Parliament with the Hungarian Minister for Europe, János Bóka, following the Presentation of the Hungarian Presidency priorities, the Austrian MEP Helmut Brandstätter (Renew Europe) asked the Hungarian Minister why Prime Minister Viktor Orbán imposes special taxes on Austrian companies.
“The Hungarian Minister for Europe @JanosBoka_HU argued in the committee of the @EUparliamentfor more competitiveness in the EU. My question: Why does @PM_ViktorOrban torture Austrian companies like @SPARoesterreich with special taxes? No answer!” Brandstätter posted on X today.
In 2020, Hungary introduced a special tax targeting foreign retailers. The tax requires retailers to offer specific quantities of certain essential food items at fixed prices in an effort to combat inflation.
Since the announcement of the special tax, taxes on retailers in Hungary have increased to as much as 4.5% of revenue. Austrian Spar, which has been operating in Hungary since 1992, is one of the foreign retailers most severely affected by the tax.
Hans Reisch, CEO of Spar Austria, pointed out that the tax forces foreign retailers to operate at a loss because retail profit margins are lower than 4.5%. Both the Austrian government and the Austrian supermarket chain Spar objected to the policy in letters sent to the European Commission on 5 April.
Furthermore, the CEO of Spar Austria told an Austrian news outlet that Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán had requested one of his relatives to invest in the company. Consequently, Spar began withdrawing capital from the country.
In response, Hungarian Transport Minister János Lázár threatened to sue Spar for defamation after the interview was published in the “corrupt Austrian press.
The economic policies of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán were found to be “incompatible” with EU competition rules. On 12 September, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued a preliminary ruling stating that the measure contradicts EU regulations on the common agricultural market. The court in Luxembourg mentioned that the legislation “undermines fair competition” and is “not proportionate” to the Hungarian government’s objective of “combating inflation and protecting disadvantaged consumers”.
