Orbán: Strong entrepreneurs are key to Hungary’s economic future
The foundation of a strong economy is a strong entrepreneurial class, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday at a delegates’ assembly of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK), after signing a cooperation agreement with the head of the chamber.
Orbán said he sees the signing of the agreement not as a formality, but as something serious, and asked the participants to see stability and predictability in it. The future of Hungary depends not only on politics and parties, but primarily on performance. There is no successful economic policy without a strong entrepreneurial class, he said.
Orbán noted that in previous agreements, they had set clear goals that the economy must be made more competitive, taxes on labour must be reduced, digitalisation must be supported, and opportunities for domestically owned SMEs must be expanded.
He said what had been pledged had been done, as a personal income tax exemption for young people under 25 had been introduced, social contribution tax had been cut, starting a business had been simplified and made cheaper, and dual training had been transformed to make qualified labour more accessible.
Orbán said there are plans on the table in Brussels that, citing support for Ukraine, set expectations for Hungary that would wipe out our country economically. They demand that Hungary raise taxes on labour, introduce new green taxes, continuously take out joint EU loans, and force Hungary to regulate businesses to death.
“All this we will not do”, the Hungarian government is not the executive office of Brussels, Orbán said and added that the Hungarian economy must be managed in line with Hungarian economic interests. Rather, we argue, sometimes veto, then negotiate and finally agree, as we did in the case of European Union funding, he said.
Orbán said Hungary has two paths ahead of it: one is the path of tax increases, which is represented by the opposition, and the other is the path of national economic policy, which is on the side of performance and tax cuts.
The prime minister said the government’s economic policy is not flawless, but it has been stable, predictable and constant for fifteen years, and the government will achieve its economic goals this year as well. The most important goal this year is to implement Europe’s largest tax cut programme targeting families, and no matter what happens, they guarantee that they will do it.
Orbán said there is only one serious risk that could shake the future of the Hungarian economy, Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, “if it is forced down our throats”. That would pose a threat to Hungarian businesses and the national economy, while Brussels’s grand plan is to keep Ukraine alive.
“We cannot and will not take on the financial burdens, nor the sending of our EU subsidies to Ukraine, nor will we accept the Ukrainian mafia. We will not accept Ukrainian GMO foods, nor the collapse of the Hungarian social welfare system, which Ukrainian EU membership would entail even in the short term,” he said.
MKIK head Elek Nagy said the chamber supports an economic environment in which businesses learn, develop, invest, innovate, and create increasingly higher added value. The strategic agreement with the government keeps these goals in mind and outlines the most important directions of economic development from 2025 until 2030.
The agreement designates simpler taxation and less administration, the development of the knowledge-based economy, and support policy and access to funding as three key areas.
The parties are mutually committed to maintaining economic neutrality, continuous GDP growth, strengthening the role of domestically owned SMEs, boosting the efficiency of companies and significantly improving digital capabilities.
Favourable changes are expected regarding the threshold for VAT exemption and the entry and retention thresholds for small business tax. The National Tax and Customs Administration will begin the necessary developments to automatically prepare draft tax returns for small businesses. The role of MKIK conciliation bodies in public administration will increase, and official administrative and response deadlines will shorten. Digital administrative and access options of businesses will cover all relevant government and chamber services.
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