Finance Minister Mihály Varga said opposition parties have submitted a total of 1,148 amendments to next year's budget bill which would "upset balance" in the draft by HUF 8,800 billion (EUR 25.4bn) in extra spending.
A final vote on Hungary’s 2022 budget is scheduled in parliament today. Minister Varga said in a video message posted on Facebook that amendment proposals submitted by Jobbik would alone spend three times the amount earmarked in emergency reserve. The LMP party’s proposals include increasing taxes as well as introducing new taxes for businesses. The new taxes, such as a CO2 emission tax and a proposed tax on air tickets would result in extra burdens of HUF 200 billion and 10 billion, respectively.
Minister Varga said the Párbeszéd party has again submitted a proposal “in another attempt” to introduce a basic income which would cost an extra HUF 1,400 billion for the state. The minister noted a proposal which he said falsely claims that the budget does not have any funding earmarked for drug prevention. “The funding has been included under the chapter allocating HUF 7 billion for providing and improving healthcare services,” he said.
The minister said the opposition’s amendment proposals, if accepted, would result in tax hikes and an accumulation of debt.