Magazine: New tax?

If the parliament approves the government’s proposal, from next year those working in the food sector will have to pay a food chain supervision fee.

Although the name suggests a payment for some kind of service but subjects would also have a reporting obligation twice a year and from those who do not pay the fee it could be collected as public debt. The text of the proposed law states that the fee would have to be paid to the Central Agricultural Office (MgSzH) from 2012. In the case of companies the fee would be calculated based on net sales revenue, while in the case of natural persons the base for calculation would be the actual income (below an annual HUF 8 million they would be exempt from paying the fee). As for the amount of the fee, it would be 0.1 percent of the net sales revenue/actual income. It would have to be paid even by agricultural suppliers and food retailers and experts say this fee can practically be considered a tax. At the same time the Ministry of Rural Development promises the revision and the possible decreasing of other fees. Professional organisations oppose the idea as no conciliation preceded the concept from the ministry and there is only a promise from the government’s side that existing fees will be lowered. Many are of the opinion that the real goal of the proposal is not restructuring the system of fees but simply to fill holes in the budget. In just one year the fee would contribute about HUF 8-10 billion to the budget. Misunderstandings could easily be cleared by a conciliation meeting, where codification errors could be filtered out, the decreasing of existing fees could be discussed, together with easing the burden on the poultry and pig sectors.