Hungarian PM expects steps against black market

Legislation to be approved by Parliament this autumn could reduce the share of the black economy in GDP by two or three percentage points in two years, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány told a Tuesday press conference.

He addressed reporters after meeting leaders of the Tax Authority (APEH), the Customs and Excise Office, the labour supervisory and the National Health Fund. Two months ago he asked them to present plans by the end of September to combat the black economy. The government wants to discuss the plans at the end of September.

As some of the changes, APEH will make more use of estimates of tax payable, will be entitled to cancel tax numbers more easily if faked invoices are found or homeless persons are named as CEOs, and in other cases. In addition, bar codes will be printed on excise stamps, Gyurcsány said. APEH will also be able to collect the estimated tax payable if illegal employment is discovered.

Experts estimate the black economy at 18% of GDP in Hungary, compared to 15% in Slovakia and 4% in the Czech Republic.

The above story is just one of more than two dozen published today by Hungary Around the Clock, the most comprehensive source of daily English-language news about Hungary. For a free trial of HATC, click here. Hungarian news sources include Népszabadság; Magyar Hírlap; Világgazdaság; Napi Gazdaság; Magyar Nemzet; Népszava; Kossuth Rádió news and Hungarian television's nightly news broadcast.

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